Soldiers and leaders from the 52d Air Defense Artillery Brigade (52d ADA BDE) and the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command (10th AAMDC) partnered with Army acquisition personnel and commercial vendors to test emerging C-UAS technologies during Project FlyTrap 4.5, held between November 10 and 21, 2025.
The event provided a platform for evaluating innovative C-UAS solutions against simulated threats from Group 1-3 drones operating in NATO airspace. Systems were assessed on their ability to detect, discriminate, or defeat aerial threats.
Vendors employed both passive and active radar technologies for detection and discrimination. Active sensors emit strong electromagnetic signals, offering detailed data for friendly forces but increasing vulnerability to enemy targeting. Passive sensors produce smaller signatures but provide less precise data for targeting solutions. For defeat objectives, demonstrations included kinetic options and one non-kinetic solution designed to minimize collateral damage.
“We have to start thinking about the group ones, the group twos [and] the group threes [drones], the smaller and cheaper systems,” said Colonel Haileyesus Bairu, commander of the 52d ADA BDE.
“How do we knock those [drones] down, so there’s not even a problem for our [maneuver forces],” Bairu added.
Early in the exercise, all participating systems were tested for interoperability with the brigade’s Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAADC2) system – a critical step for integrated operations. Soldiers from the 52d ADA BDE, V Corps, and the 2d Cavalry Regiment helped achieve this milestone, enhancing the systems’ potential for NATO procurement under the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line (EFDL), a layered air defense initiative along NATO’s eastern border.
Planning began nearly a year ago at the direction of General Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa (USAEUR-AF) and NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM). The 52d ADA BDE led efforts to identify technologies capable of countering evolving aerial threats. After a three-month selection process, five companies were chosen to participate in fall testing.
Under Brigadier General Curtis King, commander of the 10th AAMDC, the brigade integrated the event into the ongoing Project FlyTrap series. Previous iterations focused on enabling maneuver units to operate despite drone threats. With Project FlyTrap 4.0 completed and 5.0 scheduled for spring 2026, this exercise was designated Project FlyTrap 4.5.
To expand participation, planners from the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)) collaborated with USAEUR-AF, the Global Tactical Edge Acquisition Directorate (G-TEAD), and Program Executive Office Missiles and Space (PEO MS) to launch the “xTechCounterStrike” competition. The contest invited global businesses to submit innovative C-UAS solutions for a two-phase challenge offering cash prizes and potential entry into the G-TEAD Marketplace for future contracting opportunities.
“We were tasked specifically to accelerate the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line,” said Major Joshua McMillion, G-TEAD capability lead.
“We quickly realized one of the easiest ways to accelerate that capability is to partner with existing companies and existing organizations,” McMillion explained.
From more than 200 submissions, 15 finalists advanced to the first phase, each earning $50,000. Eleven traveled to Germany for phase two, where four winners were selected to receive $350,000 each. The judging panel included experts from the Army Test and Evaluation Command, G-TEAD, and soldiers from the 52d ADA BDE.
“We are all here at Project FlyTrap 4.5 helping to [bring] forward the air defense artillery branch by utilizing and testing out new systems to reinforce the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line and … expanding the tools we use,” said Sergeant Lukas Hollcraft, a judge and member of the tactics, innovation, and experimentation platoon (TIE PLT), 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.
The TIE PLT gained hands-on experience with competing systems, offering operator-level insights during evaluations. “I never expected that as a sergeant … I’d be able to sit down with majors, captains, lieutenants and colonels and evaluate these systems,” Hollcraft said.
“It’s great that as an operator, I get a say in what the future of my job looks like, especially to the future of my soldiers, who I’ll be raising to take over my shoes,” Hollcraft added.
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Post Image Credit: US Army.
