The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has unveiled a new program, Aerial Dragnet, which aims to develop technologies that provide a single, integrated picture of all small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flying in a city.
As commercial quadcopters and other low-cost, low-altitude UAVs continue to proliferate and become more widely used by potential adversaries, U.S. forces will need to be able to quickly detect and identify such aircraft, especially in urban areas, “where sight lines are limited and many objects may be moving at similar speeds,” DARPA said Sept. 13. While several systems are already being developed to track small drones, they are geared toward open areas, where sight lines are less of an issue.
“Commercial websites currently exist that display in real time the tracks of relatively high and fast aircraft — from small general aviation planes to large airliners — all overlaid on geographical maps as they fly around the country and the world,” DARPA program manager Jeff Krolik said. “We want a similar capability for identifying and tracking slower, low-flying unmanned aerial systems, particularly in urban environments.”
Such a capability might consist of surveillance nodes mounted on tethered or long-endurance UAVs, DARPA said. Each node would cover a neighborhood-sized area.
To kickstart Aerial Dragnet, DARPA issued a broad agency announcement (BAA) seeking research proposals. A proposers day is scheduled for Sept. 26 in Arlington, Va., and bids are due Nov. 12. The agency expects to award “multiple” contracts.
A DARPA spokesman described Aerial Dragnet as complementary to a recent request for information (RFI) on technologies to help land and sea forces detect, identify, track and neutralize small drones.The RFI deadline was Sept. 9. “There is synergy between the efforts,” the spokesman said.