Sign In
Search
International

Outgoing AFRICOM Leader Cites Counter-Drone, Long-Endurance ISR As Top Capability Needs

Matthew Beinart By
SHARE:
Outgoing AFRICOM Leader Cites Counter-Drone, Long-Endurance ISR As Top Capability Needs
U.S. Army Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of U.S. Africa Command, meets with troops assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, Nov. 3, 2019, on Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. Townsend visited to engage with key partners on the long-term stability in East Africa, oversee the multinational maritime exercise Cutlass Express and recognize U.S. service members in the region. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Senior Airman Codie Trimble)

The outgoing leader of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said last week he sees a need for new counter-drone and long-endurance surveillance systems to bolster capabilities for U.S. forces and partner nations in the region.  Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of AFRICOM, told reporters he specifically sees the threat of armed drones becoming an increasing challenge similar to the threat posed by adversaries in the Middle East in recent years. “For the last six years, American soldiers [in the Middle East]…

Subscriber-only content. Please log in below.

Not a subscriber or registered user yet?

Please contact us at clientservices@accessintel.com or call us at 888-707-5814 (Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET.), to start a free trial, get pricing information, order a reprint, or post an article link on your website.

Recommended

Advanced / Transformational Technology

AV’s New C-UAS Deal Begins With $80 Million Titan Order To Air Force Global Strike Command

Advanced / Transformational Technology

Army Launches Low-Cost Interceptor Competition, With Demos Planned For This Fall

Advanced / Transformational Technology

Hegseth Establishes New Czar To Oversee Pentagon’s Unmanned Systems Work

Advanced / Transformational Technology

Pentagon Taps Lockheed, nLight For New Effort To Rapidly Field High-Energy Laser Weapons

Trending

At Least 15 F-35s “DD-250’ed” Since May 2025
Singularity, Startup Developing Low-Cost Air Defense Systems, Exits Stealth With $80 Million Round
L3Harris And Sierra Space Receive $1.75 Billion For SDA Tranche 3, Tracking Layer
Defense Watch: B-21 Crew, T-7 Delay, IBCS Test, Counter-Drone Guide, UGV Raise
SOCOM to Buy Leidos AGM-190A for Small Cruise Missile Program

Congress Updates

Congress

House Republicans’ Blueprint For Reconciliation 3.0 Includes $60 Billion For Defense

House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a blueprint for a third reconciliation bill that includes $60 billion for defense, a figure slightly below the Trump administration’s request to cover Iran war […]

Congress

Senate Dems Block Consideration Of FY ‘27 NDAA Over Iran War Concerns

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a vote to advance consideration of the chamber’s $1.14 trillion fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization (NDAA). The procedural vote was 46-50, failing to reach […]

Congress

Concerns Raised At SASC Hearing On Unobligated Reconciliation Funds And Lack Of Updates On Iran War Cost

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) raised concerns at a hearing on Tuesday about the majority of funds in the $153 billion first reconciliation bill being unobligated thus […]

Unmanned Systems

CBO Says Upfront Costs To Protect Military Installations From Drones Between $1 Million And $74 Million

The initial costs to acquire and deploy counter-small unmanned aircraft system (C-sUAS) defenses at individual Defense Department installations are estimated at between $1.2 million and $73.6 million depending on the […]

The Force Multipliers

Force Multipliers

Michael Harrison – SANS Institute

Force Multipliers

Michael DiOrio – Dataminr

Force Multipliers

Arne Brinck – Dark Wolf Solutions

Force Multipliers

Jags Kandasamy – Latent AI

Job Feed

Post a Job // Post a Resume