The Navy's Exotic M80 Stiletto Test Ship Defeated Drone Swarms At Sea During Trials

TR_123456 · Jul 12, 2021

The U.S. Navy’s exotic M80 Stiletto experimental testbed ship has successfully completed a six-week demonstration of an automated 360-degree detect-and-defeat anti-drone system. The demonstration saw the M80 go up against "drone swarms" and what has been described as “a wide range of unmanned robotic threats.” The combination of the Navy’s one-of-a-kind littoral vessel and an automated anti-drone system highlights the increasingly significant threat that lower-end unmanned systems pose to naval operations and may point to these systems becoming more common aboard surface ships.

The anti-drone system tested aboard the Stiletto was the DroneSentry-X manufactured by Australia-based defense contractor DroneShield. In their July 2021 newsletter, DroneShield claims the system tested aboard the Stiletto “demonstrated overall detection capability, detection and defeat ranges, on-the-move operation in various sea states, and effectiveness against drone swarms, involving a wide range of unmanned robotic threats.” The exact nature of the "swarms" in these tests is unknown, meaning it's not clear if an actual networked, autonomous drone swarm was the threat in question or if the tests were conducted against multiple drones simultaneously.

The M80 Stiletto at Guantanamo Bay while conducting counter-illicit trafficking operations in 2008.

For this latest demonstration, the M80 was fitted with the DroneSentry-X, a relatively small (24.9” x 24.9” x 9.1”) pod designed for roof-mounted applications. The entire system is housed within an IP66-rated octagonal shell, weighs just under 60 pounds, and is operated by a proprietary tablet-based digital control panel and display. On its product page, DroneShield writes that the system uses “integrated sensors to detect and disrupt UASs moving at any speed” and is “suitable for mobile operations, on site surveillance and on the move missions.”

The company claims the system uses artificial intelligence to analyze the surrounding radiofrequency environment and identify potentially hostile drones. Once the system identifies the particular radio bands used by those drones, it then activates "non-kinetic jamming for controlled management of response to threats." A fact sheet for the system claims the DroneSentry-X has a detection range of more than 2km (1.2 miles), with a disruption range of "greater than 300m."