Lockheed Martin [LMT] on Wednesday said it recently conducted a field test for a new Scalable Counter-Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS) Solution as part of a set of upcoming events.
The company said this is a modular, open-architecture solution uses “combat-proven command and control with artificial intelligence-enabled detect and track software, low-cost sensors” and an increasing set of effectors.
This vaguely named system was designed to allow quick deployment and “seamless integration with other systems,” Lockheed Martin said.
It added the modular open systems approach allows it to be quickly integrated with the best options of sensors, effectors and command and control enhancements so it can provide “flexibility and adaptability for dynamic threat evolutions.”
The company also said it is designed “to simplify collaboration with partners” and uses AI-driven software to improve operator efficiency against individual UAS and swarm raid threats.
“Integrating diverse sensors through a user-optimized command and control (C2) system helps simplify threat identification, and we have the complementary technology offerings to convert collected data into actionable information,” Tyler Griffin, C-UAS director at Lockheed Martin, said in a statement.
“Our open architecture approach offers an agile, layered defense solution that accelerates outcomes relative to this dynamic threat. This foundational demo highlights how we can deliver the mission today and sets the stage for what Lockheed Martin and our partners will deliver in weeks and months ahead,” he continued.
The company did not disclose when and where the recent field event occurred, but characterized it as the first in a series of “innovative showcases” with the scalable, layered C-UAS defense system.
Lockheed Martin said in the initial event the company and its undisclosed partners successfully showcase the system’s ability to detect, track and perform mitigation techniques against a mix of small UAVs, including individual and swarm scenarios.
This could be in line with an unnamed system Lt. Gen. Eric Austin described last month for dismounted Marines. At the time, the commander of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command and deputy commandant for combat development and integration said newly-granted acquisition authorities through a cross-functional team and fusion cell helped them field a new ground-based C-UAS defense capability to be deployed this year (Defense Daily, Jan. 31).
Austin said his man-portable system has several subsets focused on a suite of C-UAS capabilities and can leverage multiple detection and defeat mechanisms.