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Katrina McFarland: Commercial Drone Proliferation Presents New Defense Challenges

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Katrina McFarland
Katrina McFarland

Katrina McFarland, acting acquisition chief for the U.S. Army, has pointed to the proliferation of commercial unmanned systems as a global trend for the service branch to watch, C4ISRNet reported Monday.

McFarland told the publication one challenge in the counter-UAS area is how to identify friendly versus hostile drones and how to protect military assets such as bases, stations and ranges, Mark Pomerleau reports.

She noted that existing sensors are unable to detect small and slow-moving objects and drones with signatures that different from what the military is familiar with.

“The good news is there’s a lot of [science and technology] work going on in [the counter UAS] area across the services, and we’re heavily engaged in joint work with them,” McFarland told C4ISRNet.

McFarland added the Army is developing a joint capabilities document for Tier 1 and Tier 2 drones and their counter-UAS missions.