The U.S. Space Force is enhancing its defenses against UAS at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, aiming to provide comprehensive coverage without disrupting civilian air traffic, according to Space Launch Delta 45 Commander Colonel Brian Chatman.
Driven by lessons learned from drone threats in Ukraine, Chatman said during last week’s Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) AI + Space conference that the Eastern Range is “installing a multi-million dollar counter-UAS system that helps detect UAS flying into the airspace beyond capabilities that we have today – which are pretty good [already]. This is going to take it to the next level and allows them to engage those capabilities.”
“It’s giving me a holistic coverage over the Cape, as opposed to pockets of coverage that I have today,” Colonel Chatman told reporters. “We have capability today to render UAS systems incapable if they are flying into our area,” he added, noting that the upgrade will “expand that out” and incorporate new technologies from the Air Force Research Laboratory and the National Reconnaissance Office. These agencies will also have the opportunity to test emerging systems in a complex environment under strict safety conditions.
Launch activity at both the Eastern Range and the Western Range at Vandenberg Space Force Base has surged in recent years, largely due to SpaceX operations. With frequent launches, missile tests, and heavy civilian air traffic, counter-drone measures must be carefully managed to avoid interference with legitimate communications and navigation systems.
“It’s a holistic look at everything that’s happened in the RF [radio frequency] environment to make sure that we protect and defend the Eastern Range, while not having second-order effects that will impact other operations, [using] RF effectors that are deconflicted in the spectrum,” Colonel Chatman explained.
“As the research labs develop new capabilities, we’re open to bringing them out, taking a look at what that would look like out on the Eastern Range, and then if we get to spectrum deconfliction, affording them the opportunity to come out and test those capabilities,” Colonel Chatman said.
“It’s an ongoing effort that we have in partnership, that we’ve started up now, to bring on and then employ over the course of the next couple years.”
Meanwhile, Colonel James Horne, who commands Space Launch Delta 30 and the Western Range, acknowledged that Vandenberg is still working to improve its security posture.
“Counter-sUAS is a key capability that we really are behind on,” Colonel Horne said.
“We have hundreds of incursions from foreign adversaries at our gate, we have 22-mile coastline, over 18,000 acres – most of it unfenced – and we’re mostly behind when it comes to things like counter-UAS capability. So those are things that we’re focused on building.”
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