The XVIII Airborne Corps tested AI, electronic warfare, radar and autonomous systems against drone swarms of up to 100 aircraft during an exercise at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, from September 11 to 17, Army Recognition reported.

The test pushed counter-drone defense beyond isolated engagements to the conditions a major formation could face in high-intensity conflict. The main finding was that no single sensor can solve the problem alone. The layered defense combined radar, acoustic sensing and autonomous technologies, with AI helping process sensor data, prioritize targets and coordinate electronic warfare with kinetic defensive fires.

The scale is the point. Defenses designed to deal with a handful of drones can be saturated by dozens attacking at once, and the cost of shooting down cheap drones with expensive interceptors is a problem the services are still working through. Using AI to sort and rank threats is one way to keep human operators from being overwhelmed.

Further exercises are planned at Fort Drum, New York, in September 2027. The results described are from the Army’s own testing as reported, not an independent assessment.

Source: Army Recognition.