Anti-UAV testing in NATO's Black Sea exercise: challenges and progress
The widespread use of drone technology in modern warfare has become a
reality that cannot be ignored. Especially in conflict areas, small and micro
drones are frequently used for reconnaissance, attacks and interference
activities due to their flexibility, low cost and difficulty to detect.
https://www.silencejammer.com/mobile-jammer-cell-phone-blocker In response to
this threat, NATO held a military exercise called "Ramstein Legacy" in Romania
in June 2024, focusing on testing anti-UAV tactics and equipment.
https://www.silencejammer.com/ Despite the various challenges in reality, this
exercise still provides valuable experience for the development of NATO's future
anti-UAV strategy.
Purpose and background of anti-UAV tactical testing
NATO's main goal in this exercise is to verify the defense capabilities of its existing anti-UAV system against first-level drones (including small, micro and ultra-small drones). In modern warfare, drones have become a weapon of asymmetric tactics. https://www.silencejammer.com/gps-jammer-blocker-car-signal Their low cost and easy operation allow the enemy to threaten NATO's defense system through simple means. Therefore, NATO must constantly update its tactics to cope with this constantly changing threat. https://www.silencejammer.com/wifi-jammer-bluetooth-blocker-device
The exercise was held from June 3 to 14, 2024, with participating countries including Romania, Germany, France, Turkey, Poland and other countries. In addition, several technology companies from the United States, France and Germany also participated in it, demonstrating their latest anti-drone technologies. The countries not only tested anti-drone detection equipment, but also conducted a variety of actual combat simulations to verify the practicality of these systems in complex battlefield environments.
Key technologies and operations in actual combat simulations
In this exercise, officers from the Italian C-UAS Center of Excellence played the role of the "red team" (enemy), responsible for operating various drones to simulate the attack methods of hostile forces. The drones they used included the Chinese-made DJI drones and the American Parrot Disco, which have high flight performance and concealment, and can effectively test the detection and interception equipment of NATO member states.
The first stage of the exercise was mainly to familiarize themselves with infrastructure such as electronic warfare equipment, radar and command and control systems. Subsequently, participants gradually entered the actual combat exercise stage, simulating various complex drone attack scenarios. These scenarios include drone group attacks, ground concealed starting point launches, and multi-system coordinated attacks. Through these highly simulated combat environments, NATO member states verified the performance of their anti-UAV systems in actual combat.
Real challenges and interference factors in the exercise
Although the exercise has made significant progress overall, it is inevitably affected by real interference factors. These challenges mainly come from complex battlefield environments, such as radio interference and changeable climate conditions in the Black Sea region. These real interferences have an impact on the performance of radar detection and electronic warfare equipment, especially in high electromagnetic interference environments, the reaction speed and interception accuracy of some systems have decreased.