ANALYSIS OF THE COMBINATION OF KINETIC NEUTRALISATION AND JAMMING OF SMALL DRONES

Abstract

Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) are becoming prevalent in any conflicts worldwide. Although a vast majority of these devices rely on one or more radiofrequency (RF) link(s) to accomplish their mission, making RF jammers a common countermeasure in modern warfare, sUAS could still perform their intended mission, contingent on their behaviour in contested electromagnetic environments. Consequently, the optimal response to the sUAS threat may entail a combination of RF and kinetic effectors, tailored to the specific characteristics of the threat. This study explores the potential for enhancing the effectiveness of RF and kinetic effectors by using them in combination to neutralise a variety of threats, each exhibiting a distinct behaviour under RF signal loss, providing insights into their potential applications and limitations in different scenarios.