LAD & C-UAS

The Republic of China Army (RoCA) has deployed a modular counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) developed by Taiwan's Tron Future Tech, the company told Janes at the World Defense Show (WDS) 2024 held in Riyadh from 4 to 8 February.

The C-UAS, with a new hard-kill component named T.Interceptor, has been displayed at the show.

Tron Future Tech told Janes that the C-UAS delivered to the RoCA does not include the T.Interceptor. An undisclosed number of the C-UAS was delivered to the RoCA in “mid-2023” to help the service to counter incursions by Chinese unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The company expects a “bigger tender” from the RoCA for the C-UAS (without the T.Interceptor) in 2024.

The C-UAS is also currently being tested by the Indian Armed Forces to respond to potential threats along India's border with China, the company said.

US-based High Point Aerotechnologies showcased its latest-generation Sawtooth counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) for the first time at Singapore Airshow 2024 held from 20 to 25 February.

Speaking to Janes, the chief revenue officer of High Point, Evan Hunt, said the Sawtooth C-UAS uses layered technologies to adequately detect unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The system comprises a passive radio frequency (RF) system, radar, electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensor, and jammers.

As a first step of detection, the Sawtooth uses the passive RF system to detect UAS communications in frequencies that are in known libraries. As the second step, in the case where the frequency is not known, the Sawtooth uses its radar.

“Usually, we use passive RF and radar to find the drone and then cue an EO/IR sensor that is looking in the mid-wave and the short wave, so it is day or night operable,” adds Hunt.

Ukraine is deploying a new locally developed, portable counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) that blocks first-person view (FPVs) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The system – AD Counter FPV – is manufactured by Ukraine company Kvertus and is designed to disrupt FPVs operating in the 850–940 MHz radio frequency (RF) range.

According to Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov in late January, the system is in service with the Ukrainian military and is proving very effective with soldiers. Its weight (3 kg) is an advantage that enables it to be conveniently installed on vehicles, he added.

AD Counter FPV can disrupt FPVs within a 150 m radius of the equipment, if the FPV is at least 1,500 m from its controller, the manufacturer detailed on its website. The device encompasses a tripod, two antennas, and one 12–220 V inverter