Gulf Insider
Defense Blog’s Dylan Malyasov reports that U.S. Air Force Special Warfare Airmen tested a counter-drone interceptor in Arizona, designed as a low-cost solution against one-way attack drones, such as Iran’s Shahed drone. Malyasov said the Guardian-1 Interceptor from defense startup Powerus was recently tested at the Arizona Army National Guard’s Florence Military Reservation and involved Airmen from the 48th Rescue Squadron, 7th Air Support Operations Squadron, and 316th Civil Engineer Squadron EOD. The field training exercise allowed the Guardian-1 Interceptor to intercept a Shahed-style drone, which is widely used by Russia in Ukraine and has become a major nuisance for US airbases in the region amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict. Malyasov explained: The exercise integrated a commercial kinetic interceptor with an expeditionary counter-small UAS capability to address what the Air Force describes as critical capability gaps for small teams operating outside the wire — forward-deployed elements that lack access to the fixed-site air defense systems that protect larger bases and installations. “A beautiful sight. Our interceptor drone locking onto a target drone high above a U.S. military base. Clean skies, pure precision. This is next-gen air defense in action,” Powerus founder Brett Velicovich told the defense media outlet. The Guardian-1 […]
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