Counter-drone warfare at scale? Army demo shows it’s getting closer
In just a few days, Project Flytrap stood up a defensive network in northern Germany.
Patrick Tucker | November 24, 2025
TRUPPENÜBUNGSPLATZ PUTLOS TRAINING GROUND, Germany—In a grassy field near the Baltic Sea, U.S. soldiers used net-shooting hunter drones, specially outfitted 557 rifles, and .50-caliber machine guns to drop dozens of drones, large and small, into the cold mud.
For the U.S. Army, the daylong event marked the beginning of the end of firing $4-million missiles at $20,000 drones; for its European counterparts, it showed off options to counter Russia’s accelerating threat.
The event was part of Project Flytrap, a U.S. Army effort to advance the state of counter-drone art. More than 200 vendors applied to participate in the November iteration; 20 were chosen by the Global Tactical Edge Acquisition Directorate, a new procurement office the service set up to get such gear to the field quickly.
On Nov. 21, media and foreign militaries watched a series of demonstrations that showed off not just individual products, but how they could be made to work together in just days.
https://www.defenseone.com/defense-systems/2025/11/counter-drone-warfare-scale-army-demo-shows-its-getting-closer/409768/?oref=d1-homepage-top-story
