An exercise demonstrated that existing US Army turreted weapon stations can be adapted to engage drone threats in under three seconds.
A live-fire exercise at Fort Hood, Texas demonstrated that existing US Army turreted weapon stations can be adapted to engage drone threats in under three seconds without requiring purpose-built counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS).
The demonstration, called Operation Condor Rebirth, was conducted in late March by Echodyne, Moog, and Picogrid, integrating radar, artificial intelligence, and fire-control technologies on a secure US Army network.
The configuration paired Moog’s Reconfigurable Integrated-weapons Platform (RIwP) — a modular turret system with an onboard edge computer — with Echodyne’s EchoShield radar and Picogrid’s Legion software.
Together, the setup used radar-generated airspace data and AI-based fire control to calculate firing solutions, maintain tracking, and handle multi-object engagements including reacquisition of lost tracks.
“By combining high quality radar sensors and rapid integration of data it is possible to deliver impressive C-UAS capabilities from existing battlefield systems, affordably and more quickly than using purpose-built systems,” said Echodyne CEO Eben Frankenberg.
The companies reported engagement of Group 1 through Group 3 drones — a range covering handheld quadcopters up to systems weighing several hundred pounds — within three seconds of detection.
Echodyne’s EchoShield radar is a commercially available radar designed for medium-range drone detection and tracking.
The company said the system can support optical sensor cueing and other counter-UAS effectors through standard data interfaces and machine learning-based classification capabilities.
The firms added that the exercise helped identify and address capability gaps in a simulated battlefield environment while validating the integration of the systems on a military network. Moog Defense Senior Vice President Mike Gruver said the demonstration underscored efforts to accelerate counter-UAS capabilities for US and allied forces.
