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NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—The domestic market for counter-drone capabilities will reach $30 billion annually by 2030 and right now demand is outstripping supply, Army Brig. Gen. Matthew Ross, director of Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF)-401, said on Tuesday.
That market extends beyond the Defense Department to include other federal agencies, state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcers as described in the 2025 SAFER SKIES Act, Ross said at an impromptu industry day held to discuss the Air Force’s counter-drone needs to protect its assets in the U.S. and overseas.
The 2025 law allows state and local authorities to detect and track potential threats from small drones, and in some circumstances to mitigate these threats.
Ross said one of the goals of JIATF-401 is to connect industry with everyone that has counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) requirements. Ross has conversations with professional sports league officials, stadiums, private golf clubs, concert venues, state governors and their association, he said during a panel at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference.
Air Force Demand
Shayne Sheehy, the director of operations for the Air Force’s Air Staff, said he is the point defense lead for C-small UAS, which includes organize, train and equip. The Air Force is now creating the demand for these capabilities, he said.
The goal is to “get kit to bases and protect our forces, both stateside and overseas,” Sheehy said. While every base will not have the same C-UAS equipment, the Air Force is establishing an enterprise approach to be more efficient in its counter-drone pursuits, he said.
Wing commanders have C-UAS capabilities, but they need help not just providing kit to them but also with training and organization that is “professionalized,” Sheehy said.
Lea Kirkwood, the Air Force’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Electronic Systems, told the audience that the service’s budget for C-UAS is modest although the “need has been growing” for several years. The budgets have “not always kept up,” she said.
Point Defense
Air Force leaders here on Monday said that point defense of air bases can’t be a “side hustle” any longer. Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said the service is standing up a Point Defense Weapon System.
Sheehy said the Point Defense Weapon System will be a “single umbrella” to put various counter-drone efforts under, creating a “single point of funding within the Air Force.” This is part of the enterprise approach to professionalizing the service’s C-UAS approach, he said.
A program action directive for the Point Defense Weapon System is being written to formalize the effort, Sheehy said.
