Echodyne’s EchoShield radar has been selected and integrated into the BAE Systems Anti Threat System, a modular counter-drone system that recently completed live trials in Scotland, according to Echodyne.
BATS connects current and future sensors and effectors through a secure data core, fusing sensing, intelligence, command and control, decision support and countermeasures in one modular architecture. The Scottish trials showed it integrating multiple sensors and effectors through a single command and control system to identify and respond to drone threats in real time, and BAE Systems says it can scale from point defence to wide-area protection at fixed, semi-mobile and mobile sites.
Echodyne, based in Kirkland, Washington, says EchoShield gives BATS persistent tracks, threat classification and precise location data to support sensor fusion, and that its low size, weight and power allow it to be used on fixed installations, rapidly deployable kit and vehicles on the move. EchoShield is one of several sensors chosen for the system.
Louise Heywood, head of strategy at BAE Systems Digital Intelligence and Land, said: “Drones are becoming increasingly capable, accessible and difficult to counter, creating new challenges for armed forces and critical infrastructure operators. BATS delivers a common operating picture built on a foundation of trusted sensor data, reducing the cognitive burden for individual operators by using a single integrated system to identify, confirm and target drones,” she said. “EchoShield contributes a precise, data-rich airspace picture. Using this data feed, BATS applies rapid decision logic and connects operators with the most appropriate effector. Together, these capabilities strengthen the complete ‘sense, decide, effect’ mission chain while preserving human control.”
Eben Frankenberg, chief executive of Echodyne, said: “Every decision and every effect is only as good as the sensor data beneath it,” he said. “BAE Systems has designed BATS to integrate diverse sensors and effectors, adapt as threats evolve and accelerate the operational response. EchoShield provides the precise, stable and persistent radar tracks that allow an intelligent system like BATS to act quickly and confidently against increasingly complex drone threats.”
BAE Systems has been developing a rapid counter-drone system for the UK and allies. Echodyne says its radars are integrated into hundreds of counter-drone systems worldwide, many offered through the US Joint Interagency Task Force 401 marketplace, and that its new plant in Washington State will eventually be able to make more than thirty thousand radars a year.
