U.S. military researchers are asking for industry's help in developing an agile and mobile drone-defense system that can defeat a raid of self-guided, small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are attacking important targets like high-value moving convoys. Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., released an industry solicitation (DARPA-PS-17-01) for the Mobile Force Protection (MFP) program. The potential $63 million project seeks ways to defend against today's radio-controlled and GPS-guided weaponized UAVs, and also future UAVs that navigate by visual means in large groups to gather intelligence and coordinate attacks against one or more high-value moving targets. Of interest is the ability to counter small fixed-wing or helicopter UAVs that weigh less than 200 pounds apiece, officials say. An MFP system must be able to integrate new approaches and technologies quickly, and work on ground vehicles, surface vessels, and aircraft.
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