US Army tests new C-UAS mobile configuration

A US Army officer from the 3rd Infantry Division operates the EnforceAir 2 C-UAS Software-Defined Radio Drone Detector remote during Exercise ‘Combined Resolve 25-02'. (US Army)

A dismounted backpack-worn and a vehicle-mounted version of a new counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) made its debut with the US Army as part of the Transformation in Contact (TiC) experimentation campaign, service officials announced in late May.

During Exercise ‘Combined Resolve 25-02', the 3rd Infantry Division set up the software-defined radio EnforceAir 2 in three different configurations, said Colonel Jim Armstrong, commander of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT), during a media roundtable on 20 May. In addition to setting up the radio on a stand and carrying it in a backpack, the unit tried connecting it to the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV), he said.

The AMPV was in the 2-7 Infantry Battalion and was also a testbed for a tethered UAS that resists jamming, Col Armstrong said.

EnforceAir 2 is also being used at installations. It has been used at Fort Carson, Colorado, as part of a US Northern Command C-UAS demonstration called Falcon Peak, according to a press release in November 2024.

Specifications

The system takes about 10–15 minutes to set up, Jeffrey Starr, D-Fend Solutions chief marketing officer, told Janes in a May 2025 interview. While the official training is two to three days, Starr said he has been able to train an operator to set up a protection plan and basics within a couple hours. “No special commands, no hooking up a special laptop. You follow like four or five things, and it's very intuitive,” he explained during a demonstration of the system in Fairfax, Virginia.