Echodyne Puts C-UAS Radar Directly in the Hands of the Warfighter
Echodyne recently participated in Project Flytrap, a series of exercises and training events held throughout Europe with U.S. and Allied Force participants to test and refine new counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) tactics to prepare participating elements to counter threats posed by unmanned aerial systems (UAS) on the battlefield.
The goal of the exercise was to put C-UAS technology directly in the hands of the warfighter and receive their feedback on the efficacy and usability of the systems. Warfighters need innovative C-UAS technology to easily integrate into their existing core competencies, increase decision cycle speed, and reduce cognitive load.
The EchoShield was deployed by the warfighter in under eight hours, proved incredibly easy to set-up, and provided immediate, actionable precision radar data to the warfighter in a realistic combat environment. The Echodyne team conducted four hours of classroom training then four hours of field training at the start of the exercise.
In order to maintain exercise realism, the Echodyne team received limited information about training and operational scenarios. The warfighter had to quickly adapt the EchoShield to multi-mission environments and combat like conditions. EchoShield detected, classified, and tracked UAS while fixed, on-the-halt, and on-the-move (OTM).
During the 3.0 portion of the exercise, the EchoShield was quickly mounted on a Stryker vehicle enabling the ability to detect, tracked and classify aerial threats while OTM simulating the flexibility required in a rapidly changing modern battlespace. EchoShield’s ultralow SWaP made it incredibly easy to redeploy onto different platforms as mission sets evolved live during the exercise.
The soldiers used Echodyne’s software user interface to view the radar data and could view and track classified aerial threats, walkers, and ground vehicles simultaneously in order to maintain a decisive edge. The Echodyne radar system provided highly precise, classified radar data that helped reduce the cognitive decision load on the warfighter so they could make faster C-UAS and battlefield decisions.
Project Flytrap supports Army transformation and modernization efforts and more than 40 organizations, 400 representatives across industries, and allies and partners from four different countries including U.K., Poland and Australia, participated.
“Project Flytrap was not just a demonstration of C-UAS technologies. It was an opportunity for warfighters to truly use our radars in combat like conditions. We were proud to contribute to Joint Forces rapid transformation to the very real threat of unmanned drones and inform the way the U.S., allies, and partners fight on the modern battlefield,” said Jeff Phillips, VP DoD/IC.
About Echodyne
Echodyne is a U.S.-based designer and manufacturer of advanced radar systems for cutting-edge Defense applications. The company combines patented advanced ESA antenna designs with powerful software and machine learning to precisely detect, classify, and track multi-mission threats on complex modern battlespaces. Echodyne radars seamlessly deliver the most accurate situational awareness data whether operating in fixed, temporary, portable, and on-the-move modalities across air, ground, and water domains. The radars’ open architecture ensures data-rich integration into sensor fusion layers and command-and-control systems enhancing operational threat clarity. Echodyne’s commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) radars shatter the price-performance curve to scale mission-critical radar across all echelons of the force delivering enhanced mission success and warfighter safety. Echodyne radars are the primary sensor for dozens of Counter-UAS systems around the world, including every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and across every Agency of the U.S. Government, and support Allied Forces globally.