A timeline of the rising small UAS threat

Recent incidents involving the use of small, hostile UAS by terrorist organisations in Syria and Iraq and regular armies in eastern Ukraine, coupled with rapidly expanding drone industries outside of NATO, have raised serious questions about whether the armed forces are adequately trained, organised and equipped to successfully defend against enemy UAS, at home and abroad.

The threat of small UAS has thus emerged as a critical tactical and operational vulnerability for the military, and industry is now beginning to respond to this capability gap. Yet before acquiring C-UAS systems, a common understanding of the UAS threat and a clarification of the rules of engagement is urgently required.

Here, we look back at the past two years to track the events influencing this new threat...

Navigate the timeline below or click here for full screen

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