Anduril recently showcased its rapidly deployable fly-away kit designed to counter small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) during the Falcon Peak 25.2 project, which took place in September. This exercise, conducted by US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), was held at Eglin Air Force Base and focused on evaluating drone detection, identification, tracking, and low-collateral defeat capabilities for homeland defense.
During the demonstration, Anduril’s counter-drone kit effectively detected and tracked a hostile UAS before neutralizing it using the system’s low-collateral kinetic interceptor known as the “Anvil.” This successful demonstration underscored the kit’s potential to meet USNORTHCOM’s operational requirements, paving the way for possible future operational deployment.
The Anduril counter-drone kit operates on the company’s AI-enabled Lattice software platform and was developed to provide an all-in-one solution for detecting, tracking, identifying, and defeating aerial threats. Besides the mobile sentry and the Anvil, the kit includes Wisp, configured in a SkyFence layout for extensive passive infrared coverage, and Pulsar, which is focused on radio frequency detection and countermeasures.
Moreover, Anduril has committed to optimizing its system for defending against small drone threats within US airspace, adhering to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations and considering civilian safety protocols.
The need for such systems has become increasingly urgent, as several US military bases have reported hostile drone incursions over recent years. Notably, drone strikes in Iraq and Syria in October resulted in casualties, highlighting the vulnerability of military assets to drone threats. Concerns about capability gaps in protecting these bases against enemy UAS have also been raised by Pentagon officials and US-based think tanks.
In a strategic move, USNORTHCOM was designated as the Pentagon’s primary agency responsible for synchronizing homeland counter-small UAS responses within the continental United States and Alaska in November 2024. The Falcon Peak initiative began earlier, with the first iteration, Falcon Peak 25.1, taking place at Fort Carson, Colorado, just a month prior to the recent demonstration. This ongoing focus on enhancing drone defense capabilities signifies a growing recognition of the challenges posed by unmanned aerial systems in the modern battlefield.
