NATO has issued an innovation challenge aimed at countering fiber-optic tethered FPV drones. NATO calls tethered drones “one of today’s most urgent battlefield threats.” Released on April 28, the call seeks cutting-edge solutions to neutralize these drones, which are notoriously resistant to traditional electronic warfare techniques.
The challenge is being run by NATO’s Allied Command Transformation (ACT) Innovation Hub and the Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre (JATEC). It marks the sixteenth such call since the program’s launch in 2017, with this iteration focused specifically on the growing threat of tethered drones used in frontline conflicts, primarily in Ukraine.
RELATED CONTENT: Why drones with wires are not the step backward they might seem
Companies have until May 30 to submit their proposals. Finalists will be announced on June 5 and invited to pitch their solutions in person in Tallinn, Estonia.
Ideal technologies will address multiple aspects of the threat, including detection and threat prioritization, guidance and tracking and both kinetic and non-kinetic neutralization. NATO has emphasized that proposed systems must detect small drones at ranges of up to 500 meters, perform in low visibility and nighttime conditions and remain lightweight and modular, ideally under 100kg.
Open architecture, compliance with NATO standards and rapid deployability (within six to twelve months) are also key requirements. Target unit costs fall between €50,000 and €100,000, suggesting a focus on affordability and scalability. According to the NATO notice, the selected technology must also demonstrate “strong potential for mass production in Ukraine.”
Suggested components may include low-cost micro-radars, thermal or optical recognition systems and automated defeat technologies such as smart turrets, shotgun arrays, net launchers or aerosol-based interceptors.
In April, Major General Adrian Ciolponea of NATO’s ACT called for an overhaul of NATO’s counter-drone doctrine and proposed a new vision for layered counter-UAS defense strategies. These developments reflect NATO’s ongoing efforts to fast-track deployable, cost-effective counter-UAS systems and to prepare NATO members for evolving drone threats on the modern battlefield.
RELATED CONTENT: Major General calls for NATO-wide overhaul of drone defense
Post Image – British soldiers participate in a 10-hour FPV drone challenge in Westminster in November 2024 (Post Image Credit: UK MoD – Crown Copyright 2025)
