A draft document, currently titled “Unmanned aircraft systems—Counter UAS—Testing methodology,” has been released for public comment. The document provides standardized guidelines for detecting, tracking, and identifying nefarious drones and using countermeasure systems to protect the lower airspace.

The document was created within the framework of the COURAGEOUS Project (Building a common understanding of the effectiveness of counter-UAS solutions) and funded by the European Union’s Internal Security Fund Police under Grant Agreement 101034655. This standardized test methodology is based on user-defined scenarios representing various use cases, specifically geared towards civil security end users, such as prison y airport security, protección de infraestructuras críticas, border security, and combating drugs and human trafficking.

It should be emphasized that this standard test methodology focuses exclusively on the detection, tracking, and identification (DTI) aspect of the counter-UAS “kill chain” and does not address neutralization aspects. The methodology concentrates on the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of DTI systems as integrated solutions rather than individual sensors as they are presented to end users. While the test methodology includes a user-driven qualitative evaluation of the counter-UAS solutions’ interface, a comprehensive usability analysis of the Command & Control interface is not within the scope of this standard test method.

A public enquiry on the draft document is organized for a period of 45 days, closing on 28 August 2024. The document and instructions for submitting comments can be found at COURAGEOUS: public consultation on draft CWA is open!

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