Countering Small Drones: Office Works Toward Joint Solutions to Growing Threat
Maj. Gen. David Stewart
Lt. Col. Paul Lushenko
Thursday, January 2, 2025
Since 2016, coinciding with operations against the Islamic State group, defense leaders have characterized drones, especially small unmanned aircraft systems, as a significant threat to U.S. military personnel. Small unmanned aircraft systems, for example, are rampant in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, where U.S. forces battle the remnants of the Islamic State group.
These drones weigh less than 1,300 pounds, maneuver below 18,000 feet and fly slower than 250 mph. Their versatility allows adversaries to disrupt U.S. military operations and target personnel, at little cost, thus providing asymmetric advantages.
In 2020, DoD established the Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office, known as the JCO, to address the burgeoning threat of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Since then, small UAS have expanded in quantity and lethality, reinforcing the JCO’s pivotal role in helping the joint force mitigate the immediate threat of these capabilities.
At the same time, drones have proliferated across other domains—land, sea and space—and in the U.S. homeland. Given the rapid rise of this deadly threat, the JCO is prepared to help the joint force meet the emerging challenge of all-domain drone warfare.
https://www.ausa.org/articles/countering-small-drones-office-works-toward-joint-solutions-growing-threat
