US Space Force is installing a ‘next level’ system to combat drones near Cape Canaveral launch sites

The U.S. Space Force is getting serious about drone threats.

Space Force is looking to boost its ability to deter and defeat uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) in the vicinity of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Eastern Range, the 15-million-square-mile (39 million square kilometers) stretch of airspace over the Atlantic Ocean through which the United States launches most of its space missions. That’s according to comments made by Col. Brian L. Chatman, director of the Eastern Range.

According to Breaking Defense, Chatman told attendees at the AI+ Space Summit in Washington, D.C. last week that Space Force is installing a new multi-million-dollar counter-UAS system at the Cape that will not only boost security forces’ existing ability to track UAS, but also allow them to “engage those capabilities” when necessary. Chatman told Breaking Defense that, while security forces at the base currently have some ability to defeat drones in their airspace, the new system will offer “holistic coverage over the Cape, as opposed to pockets of coverage” that the base has today.

The new system will also involve testing new experimental technologies developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory and National Reconnaissance Office, Chatman added. It’s unclear what those might be. But any counter-UAS (C-UAS) systems, particularly experimental ones, are tricky in such a busy area.

With record numbers of rocket launches, and a fairly high-density airspace full of support aircraft of all types, any counter-drone systems must be carefully calibrated so as to not interfere with the communication, navigation or telemetry of rockets or other vehicles. Many C-UAS systems defeat drones by jamming or interfering with their radio transmissions or navigation systems, which has the potential to interfere with launch operations or other vehicles at the range.

Adding any new C-UAS systems will therefore be a balancing act, Chatman told Breaking Defense, adding that he wants to ensure these new capabilities will “protect and defend the Eastern Range, while not having second order effects that will impact other operations.”

“As the research labs develop new capabilities, we’re open to bringing them out, taking a look at what that would look like out on the Eastern Range, and then if we get to spectrum deconfliction, affording them the opportunity to come out and test those capabilities,” Chatman said.

There are other ways to defeat drones, however, including using traditional weapons, blowing them out of the sky with other drones armed with explosive warheads, or simply ramming into them.

There is a clear need for a more robust C-UAS capability at American launch facilities. In January, Canadian national Xiao Guang Pan was charged with flying a drone over and photographing launch facilities and munitions bunkers at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. After taking a plea deal, the man was sentenced to 12 months of probation and deported from the United States.

Just months before, a Chinese citizen and lawful resident of California was arrested attempting to board a flight to China after using a drone to photograph facilities at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The man, Yinpin Zhao, was sentenced to four months in jail and deported.

Drone and UAS incursions have been reported at a large number of other U.S. military facilities in recent years, although in many cases, law enforcement agencies have been unable to attribute them to any particular group or actor  — at least publicly.