U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground hosts major counter-UAS test event
U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) is at the forefront of conducting developmental testing of the equipment that may be used by the future force.
It’s importance to this mission was underscored by hosting the Joint Interagency Task Force (JITF) 401 operational experimentation exercise called Falcon Peak 26.2 throughout most of September.
“There is a lot of technology and infrastructure that we are trying to enable,” said Hi-Sing Silen, JITF-401 Test Integrator. “We are evolving and we will get there faster.”
Conducted in support of U.S. Northern Command and Joint Task Force Southern Border, the exercise assessed counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) capabilities from multiple vendors against evolving threats. It also established permanent C-UAS test and evaluation lanes at YPG that will support ongoing collaboration among the Department of War, operational units, industry, commercial developers, and defense partners.
“The range is standardizing the spec sheet for each of these three lanes,” said Silen. “The goal is to have set standards of measurement so we all have a baseline to start with.”
Consisting of lanes for C-UAS technologies that fight the craft through sensors, electronic defeat, or kinetic engagement, vendors put their systems through multiple realistic test scenarios. Since the establishment of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth last August, U.S. Army Yuma Test Center has been designated as the primary, dedicated interagency Counter-small Unmanned Aerial Systems test and training range.
“We are serving as the blueprint, but this is to be replicated at any Department of War test and evaluation facility or any other range possible,” said David Bates, Capability Integrator in YPG’s Air Combat Systems Directorate. “The idea is that based on capabilities and location it could be changed.”
Beyond being the first Falcon Peak exercise to simulate UAS incursions in the natural environment conditions found at the southern border, Falcon Peak 26.2 was also the first test event to use the autonomous command-and-control software platform Lattice as the baseline standard for evaluating commercial sensor-to-shooter counter-UAS capabilities.
“YPG is the first deployment of Lattice for test and evaluation purposes,” said Bates. “There are a lot of lessons learned, especially from a test and evaluation perspective.”
The multi-week test event drew attention from national and international media and the highest levels of the Army, culminating in a visit by Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle.
“We have got to be the very best at controlling the sky just above our land to ensure our Soldiers, our law enforcement, and our Border Patrol stay safe from drone threats,” he said in a social media video recorded at YPG’s Castle Dome Heliport. “We can’t assume that we are only going to face these threats overseas.”
“It really all comes down to fundamentals,” added Brig. Gen. Matthew Ross, JIATF-401 Director. “We want simple, reliable systems that work every time. We want to make sure that our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines are trained to use them effectively."
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