I'm worried about our forward troops under the threat of cheap drone swarms. I'm not alone.
The proliferation of armed unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), also known as drones, presents a growing threat to maneuver ground forces, headquarters, logistics and critical infrastructure. This is particularly true for the explosion in the availability of small, increasingly sophisticated UASs. While the Pentagon has invested significant resources to address the challenge posed by medium and large drones as part of its air and missile defense program, it is only beginning to deal with the growing danger of small drones, particularly to military vehicles and dismounted formations.
I likened the problem using a naval terminology model. The Navy fights for control of the seas in the deep "blue" waters far from shore. It moves to project power ashore in the "green" waters closer to shore or even the "brown" waters so close to shore that mud changes the color.
For the Army air defense issue, the Air Force and major Army systems are geared to the high "blue" skies. The problem is in the "brown" skies close to the dusty and muddy ground where the blue sky air defenses can't reach.
In Army magazine more than two years ago I addressed that problem in a short article. My view is that the forward military vehicles and dismounted formations shouldn't be burdened with lugging around enough weaponry to protect themselves. That would interfere with their primary close ground combat missions.
I favored layered swarming air defense drones (with smaller drones at the lower level and longer-ranged drones going up the table of organization) that fly combat air patrol over the forward troops. Their organic air defenses would just focus on last-ditch defense against the leakers that make it through the CAP UASs.
So far, according to that initial article, the Army is mostly looking at ground-based kinetic and electronic warfare defenses. Although it mentions the Coyote small killer drone, which could be part of it. The author advises making active protection systems capable of shooting down drones in addition to protecting the vehicles from direct fire anti-tank weapons.
I do like that idea. But it doesn't help the dismounted infantry. And it potentially draws down the magazine of the vehicle APS system to make them vulnerable to direct fire weapons. I'd rather see those air defense capabilities represent the weapon for the leakers that get through other defenses.
I think combat fighter drones are the best way to protect the brown skies over are forward military vehicles and dismounted infantry.
