The Estonian Defence Forces, the United States Army and other allied forces practiced counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) tactics on March 5, during the Digital Shield 2.0 exercise in Rutja, Estonia.
During the exercise, Estonian and Allied sensors and command centres were linked to a real-time unified data network in order to identify threats more quickly and respond to them in a coordinated manner.
“We tested a concept for ensuring effective protection against the threat of UAS using centralised command and control software, which can be used to control interceptor drones and missiles,” said Major Tõnis Pärn, commander of the Air Surveillance Wing of the Estonian Air Force. “The goal is to integrate all counter-drone defence systems arriving in the near future into a single, centrally controlled system.”
The exercise provided an opportunity to practice potential threat scenarios in conditions that were as realistic as possible. The data exchange environment that was tested is similar to the Delta system used in Ukraine. Data collected by sensors was gathered at command centres, from where it was forwarded to units operating weapon systems CV90 and Piorun for the destruction of targets. The Alta Ares, TYTAN, and Origin Blaze interceptor drones and the IonStrike missile system were also tested as new solutions.
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Image: Estonian Defence Forces
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