The Ministry of Defence has launched a request for information (RFI) on technologies to counter fast, jet-powered uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), warning that the growing threat risks overwhelming current air defences.
According to the document, “the proliferation of affordable, long-range, jet-powered One-Way Effector Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (OWE-UAV) presents a significant and evolving threat to both deployed forces and critical national infrastructure. These threats exploit advantages in cost and volume, making traditional kinetic air defence solutions economically unviable and leading to the potential saturation of existing layered defence systems.”
The RFI, published under project code 715604460, was issued in collaboration with the Drone Capability Coalition. It stresses that this is not yet a procurement exercise but an attempt to survey industry.
“The purpose of this RFI is to understand the current industry landscape and maturity of a capability to counter jet-powered OWE-UAV. The information gathered will be used to inform the Authority’s strategic planning and to potentially refine future requirements around the development, production and support of such a capability.”
The MoD outlines a notional performance profile of the threat, noting that such drones may operate “at speeds in excess of 350km/h and at altitudes between ground level and 12000ft+ Above Ground Level (AGL) with a high degree of autonomy to reduce susceptibility to Electronic Counter Measures (ECM).”
In response, the ministry is exploring whether “the development of a purpose-built, high-speed, interceptor drone designed specifically to neutralise jet-powered OWE-UAVs” is feasible.
Suppliers are invited to provide details on potential payloads, propulsion, operating ranges, survivability, integration with existing radar or command networks, and capacity to operate in a swarm environment. Industry has also been asked to give indicative production costs, scalability, supply chain risks, and timelines for delivering an initial operational capability.
While the notice does not commit to future procurement, the ministry states that “the Authority may, at its discretion, invite selected respondents to a follow-up engagement session to discuss their submissions in more detail.”
Lol. Who requires a “drone swarm” to overwhelm an air defence which barely exists?
Four QRA fighters spread over the entire country do not constitute a credible air defence against a sneak attack by anything.
One SSGN could take out the bulk of our MPA and northern fighter force in a single strike.
Sadly I do agree. The UK has always been confident that assumed NATO air supremacy (needs USAF to achieve ) meant just minimal land based systems are required, primarily for land units. Sadly this approach now simply will not be enough. The US may not be there and the drone threat to strategic (and rare) assets means the whole landscape has changed beyond recognition.
80 years after the Doodle bug !
I would think taking out a jet-powered uncrewed aerial vehicle would be pretty much the same as taking out a jet-powered crewed aerial vehicle
Except for cost. The drones we are talking about here exploit modern cheap low end electronics to provide sufficient AI capability to navigate to the target and possibly flying the odd dogleg flight path to make targeting that little bit harder, but are otherwise modern day doddlebugs… i.e. really cheap and simple to build in considerable numbers. Far cheaper to build that the defending SAM’s.
Cheers CR
A jet propelled drone isn’t going to be that cheap I am thinking. Cheaper than a plane, but it’s more or less going to be the same as todays cruise missiles.
Youre a couple of orders of magnitude off. Storm shadow for example is $1M. Interceptors will be in the 10s of thousands to be viable.
I was thinking they wouldn’t be that cheap but relatively speaking I think they could be. Jet engines for one way strike drones can be pretty basic I would think no need for the expensive materials and precision one needs for the sort of jet engines we are familiar with. But going beyond that even look at at the ones used for personal maned flight, what is it 4 attached to arms how much are they, or higher end radio controlled models. I can see a whole range of relatively cheap options becoming available designed or adapted specifically for drone use far below the sophistication of a true cruise missile.
I rather think the best counter might be a similar ai type platform truck launchable where possible, more sophisticated plenty of speed that can home in on such prey and use a couple lightweight short range missiles or perhaps a lightweight cannon to engage them maybe even tip them as a last resort, this is sounding very WW2 the more I think about it. As your defensive platform not being one way it can obviously be more capable than the attacking platform. Might be some novel engagement systems employed by such a platform to bring down these drones.
The other option certainly as last resort is one of the small one way interceptor drones of the type Anduril is producing. Indeed these will be a vital part of any defence set up to fill gaps and probably beyond and picking off any drones that get through.
I note there are jet powered options already being developed for example the US Hitchhiker and Ukraines bulletin. They are described as ‘low cost’ I wonder what they mean by that mind.
Would not take much to over load our only full Air Defence Regt and 4 QRA aircraft. That is all that protects the entire country. And the Air Defence Regt is not even set up, is parked in garages un manned 24/7. The only place with British manned air defence in the world is the Falklands.
That AD Regiment is one of two regular, 16RA and 12RA.
One MRAD on Sabre, which I assume you’re referring to, the other on Stormer Starstreak or LMM.
And both are for defence of the deployed Field Army, not the UK mainland and key sites.
Being picky, as your wider point on the state of our AD stands, there is actually another manned unit, 34 Sqn RAF Regiment, which I mention below, has some additional assets. The RAF Regs move back into the GBAD field is not well known and quite small, but it exists.
The LLM was in part gifted to Ukraine with with no replacements listed as brought on to strength. So really there is no ground based Air defence any where with in the UK or any of bases less for the Falklands . A sad state of affairs, I have to admit I have not heard of the RAF replacing their lost air defence. So that is news. I do not mind picky, detail is good. Always glad to learn or be informed of new things.
Being corrected is ok, but how ever you spin it is a crap tiny amount of AD, lowest level since the cold war ended. Hardly some thing to be proud of.
Agreed. It is tiny, and aimed at a CUAS capability, post things like Gatwick some years ago, and the incursions at US RAF bases more recently.
The notice doesn’t commit to future procurement.
Tick.
MoD HMG warn all and sundry on the dangers.
Tick.
MoD HMG have GBAD plan regards the Army in place for years now, and talk of it often.
Tick.
HMG MoD still won’t provide any firm details on the what, when, how many, and how in reality MRAD is to “double” and SHORAD is to “Triple” with no increase in personnel, nor how Wavell is trying to address this with any internal orbat reorgs.
Tick.
And that is just for the Field Army.
For the wider UK CNI and Military, Intelligence key nodes, MoBs, and other critical points of failure, we have “saturation of EXISTING LAYERED AD SYSTEMS.”
Those systems being what exactly? Layered? Does the public actually believe this stuff?
The UK ASCS ASF is comprehensive regards C3, RRH, the RAP, and the QRA system it links into works. But it is wafer thin, only one CRC remains, there is no known alternate, and there is no GBAD whatsoever as a part of the ASF beyond an RAF Regiment Sqn which contributes a handful of CAUS, some LMM Launchers, and an undisclosed and very low key purchase of an unknown number of Silent Sentry CAUS.
And I believe this unit may well be primarily for defence of deployed RAF assets, not just the home base.
As usual, endless words.
Correction to the above, thought that name Silent Sentry sounded wrong.
The system bought low key for the RAF Regiment is called “Rapid Sentry”
Hi Dadiele,
Nice post mate but there were a number of arconyms that I didn’t understand I even accessed the MOD list of acronyms (all 400 odd pages of it to no avail so I was hoping you could educate me.
ASF had four meanings, Additional Secondary Factors, Aeromedical Staging Facility, Anti‐Surface Force and Army Standard Family (shelters). ASCS, RRH and CAUS weren’t listed at all. CRC Contact Reporting Centre or Control and Reporting Centre?
I am guessing that the last para refers to what was called the UK Air Defence Ground Environment?
Not the first time have come across unlisted MoD acronyms cost me a few days delay on a project one time!
Thanks CR
Hi mate.
ASF was an error on my part, as I usually go by memory with my posts without checking what I have in mind, and sometimes I get it wrong!
I was actually thinking of the ACCF, Air Command and Control Force, sorry! The new ( ish ) name for the ground based RAF ASCS, that being the assorted Radar and control elements all linked together by comprehensive data link systems, mix of microwave, UHF, and buried fibre optical land lines.
ASCS, Air Survillance and Control system, see above.
RRH, Remote Radar Heads, namely Neatishead ( the radar at Trimmingham moved back to adjacent to the old CRC R3 site, which was sold off ) Staxton Wold, Brizlee Wood, Portreath, Benbecula, Buchan, Saxa Vord.
CAUS is me messing with you again, or my blasted phone, I meant CUAS, Counter UAS.
Yes to CRC. There were once 4, Neatishead, Boulmer, Buchan, plus a reserve at Ash, all in R3 underground bunkers. In 2004 bag they were cut to 2, Boulmer, plus another in a surface building at RAF Scampton ( bonkers )
With that site closed the CRC was quietly dropped and now I’m only aware of the CRC at Boulmer, still in its Cold War R3 bunker.
Briefly….the assorted RRH and civil NATS sites provide the RAP, Recognised Air Picture, and feed this into the NADOC, or NASOC as its name keeps changing, the bunker at Nap Hill, which overseas the UKADR, and built around 1985 I recall.
Below this, the CRC assigns the QRA Dets north and south, and liases with other assets.
So yes, what was the UKADGE, still much as it was but with newer c3 and name changes, and a lot smaller assets wise than it had.
Apologies for the incorrect acronyms.
Yes funny, it seems the ability to publish documents is now the ultimate defence.. I’m sure the MOD can just build a massive defensive wall of publications. Who needs actual stuff.
Err, what. English please. I’ve never seen so many acronyms in one sentence!
Sorry! That’s how I describe stuff I tend to use the acronyms MoD use, assuming of course I use the right ones!!
I recall seeing a few months ago a 30mm turret with a SHORAD missile system attached, which could be mounted on an armoured vehicle or a Mastiff/Supacat or heavy duty flatbed. It seems such a blindingly obvious, cost effective and workable purchase. But no, instead the option of interminable further trials and industry consultation is preferred.
No rush gents.
Exactly. It is so irritating and the reason I sometimes post with such sarcasm. It’s not as if solutions ate not out there, and Brit ones at that!
But….my usual cynicism, that wouod mean less pork sent to the MIC.
Sorry.
You want to watch those ticks, might be a sign of Tourettes.
(My late BIL had it bad, rest his soul)
This is I presume meant to be funny.
So they’re looking at a suicide Drone, in effect?
Rather than a one way Strike Drone, one to hit incoming jet powered Drones.
Possibly something along the lines of the Anduril Roadrunner-M. Which is a VTOL twin turbojet drone, that has a range of around 10 miles. These are estimated to cost around $500K and are a development of the land attack version. The Company has said that this version can loiter and return to the base to be refuelled and then used again. It has apparently a high subsonic speed, yet haven’t said what these distances/duration/speeds are precisely. But they have been deployed on an Arleigh Burke as part of an operation trial, that is part of the defence group for the Gerald.R.Ford carrier currently sailing off the UK’s coast.
Looking deeper into what the Roadrunner-M can do. It uses an electro-optical sensor as its primary means of acquiring and tracking a target. Then using inbuilt AI to validate the target. I’m presuming this sensor is infrared based, as it will give it a day/night capability. But as importantly it can be data-linked into a Link-16 network. Making it useable by a SAM command unit or ship’s CMS (Aegis), that has detected threats via radar and/or other sensors.
The Roadrunner-M is not overly cheap, but does answer a lot of questions.
NATO probably has command of fast jet and manned airspace but drones is for all actors.
As experience in Ukraine has shown, with decoys and weight of numbers there is no real defence. Imagine a disguised container ship in the North Sea, within minutes a drone swarm is launched at Bacton, Walpole and a few other sites. Result, no gas, no electricity for the east of England. Attacks on airfields like Waddington? Well use your imagination.
This government, and all others are full of brown stuff.
The best defence is always the ability to blow their stuff up more than they can blow your stuff up.
MOD should take a good look at Israel’s layered air defences, which were proven to shoot down anything from drones to Ballistic missiles.
Be interesting to know exactly how effective it is. Despite being a small Country and predictable incoming directions and plenty of notice a fair few seemed to get through, how many we would no doubt like to know.
Wire fences around military and critical civilian sites were introduced primarily in the 20th century to keep out unwanted visitors, a first line of defence. Today, every site deemed necessary for perimeter fence protection will now qualify for drone protection, too, jet-powered or otherwise. That is a daunting task for governments to swallow due to the enormity of the land space involved and the staggering costs. Suddenly, defence requirements have escalated in terms of scope and costs. MOD is no longer just concerned with budgeting new kit for the three services, but has to combat new cheap technologies (some obtainable from a high street store) and could blow current annual budgets out of the window. The days of rational programme timelines could be a thing of the past, and AI may save our bacon or be a further exacerbator. Instead of just wire fencing, we may have to resort to huge anti-drone nets strung above sensitive installations, which will be both unsightly and horrendously expensive.
(some obtainable from a high street store)
Only shops in the high streets nowadays are Betting shops, Vape and Charity, governments killed off the high streets years ago.
Oh I forgot Turkish Barbers, they sell everything, at a cost !
“Something for the weekend sir”.
“obtainable“
This has ‘word of the day’ written all over it!
Are you on drugs ? !!! 😁
Unfortunately not! I talk enough rubbish sober, just imagine if I “dabbled.”
Blimey, I’m Tea Total, Drug free, non smoker and mostly “A useless T*£T” apparently and I haven’t dabelled for years either, apparently two kids was enough.
Got a great Xmas pressie lined up though, one of them posh remote cleaners like wot mrs Jim hath got in ones holibobs home. Hope she likes it better than the cordless Iron or the Remote Lawn Mower which she broke shortly after opening them. Luckily I managed to duck and the wall was easily repaired.
#what was it we were talking about again ?
You forgot estate agents and mobile phone shops and the shops that sell shite mobile phone covers.
It wouldn’t take much to overwhelm an air defence that barely exists!
Overwhelm traditional layered air defence systems… well a start would be actually have a traditional layered air defence system for our critical infrastructure and expeditionary land and air forces.
I agree while we only have two or three layers at the moment we don’t have anywhere near enough of them.
Two dozen complete sky sabre systems to cover critical national assets would be a start to which longer range anti ballistic missile defence and shorter range defence against drones needs to be added and this RFI is only covering what I suspect will be a mid range drone like the jet powered ones currently used by Russia.
Is there not another name we use to call jet powered One-Way Effector Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (OWE-UAV)
I’m pretty sure we use to call them cruise missiles,
I seem to remember a few of these being fired into the UK in 1944.
“I’m pretty sure we use to call them cruise missiles”
I’m amazed you can remember anything the amount drugs and alcohol you take
#round2
I don’t wish to wind you up as you seem pretty ‘heated’ already.
But do you have any discounts going?
I can’t afford £70 a month
#broke
There was a time when men were simply men and women were simply women. Times have changed, though and we ‘dinosaurs’ have to keep up.
I got a Blinding Idea, why not invent a really cheap Laser that only costs 10 pence per shot that can hit a Cricket ball travelling at mk 2 ?
Seriously, we could site them all over the Country and let Jims wife control them.
Can’t be that expensive surely ?