US Army Deploys Experimental #Counter-Drone Vehicles in Europe | Defense Update:
▻http://defense-update.com/20170306_cmic_europe.html
▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkwNtPuoVek
The U.S. Army is dispatching two specially modified Stryker vehicles designed to combat unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS). Developed as C-UAS Mobile Integrated Capability (CMIC) demonstrators the vehicles were evaluated during the recent Army Warfighting Assessment exercise at Fort Sill in October. The vehicles were flown to Germany last month to be tested with operational units in Europe. The deployment was requested by officials from US Army Europe.
“We know our enemy is using these capabilities,” said Maj. Russell Micho, who works for the Capabilities Development Integration Directorate at Fort Sill, OK. “This threat exists. ISIS is using #drones. The enemy is attaching bombs to drones and dropping them on friendly forces and civilians. This threat didn’t exist five years ago.”
In response to the growing threat, developers worked to create a prototype to help detect, identify, and defeat these unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), said Scott McClellan, Fires Support Branch chief at Fort Sill. The result was the development of two counter UAS mobile integrated capabilities, better known as CMIC.
Taking two existing Stryker vehicles (a tactical armored vehicle) McClellan and the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center Science and Technology team took various systems that traditionally have little to do with one another, and created software to integrate them. “We made some changes such as adding a larger optic,” said McClellan. “The standard size of targets are changing. ‘Tank size’ was the normal size in the past, but now with new technology and with new threats we have to find small objects that are oftentimes impossible to see with the naked eye.”