The Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF-401) hosted an Industry Day on March 5, bringing together representatives from industry and government partners to discuss collaboration and accelerate the development of counter-small Unmanned Aerial Systems (c-sUAS) capabilities.
The event provided a forum for JIATF-401 leadership to outline its priorities and acquisition approaches while enabling industry partners to engage directly with government stakeholders on emerging technology and operational needs.
“I want you to know what we’re doing to make your products accessible to our customers and what we’re doing to expand that customer base so we can get greater depth in our industrial base,” said US Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, Director, JIATF-401.
Ross highlighted how the accessibility and low cost of small unmanned systems have changed the security environment. “It’s not a new thing, but if you give them the ability to conduct some type of attack without fear of attribution or accountability, that changes the paradigm.”
He said industry feedback is necessary to address gaps in current systems and improve how c-sUAS technologies are integrated across the US military and interagency partners. He noted that companies frequently ask what standards or protocols their systems must meet to integrate with existing c-sUAS ecosystems.
The growing complexity of the threat environment means there is no single system capable of addressing every scenario. Instead, organisations must rely on a layered approach that combines different capabilities to detect, track and defeat unmanned systems.
“I’m not asking for a 100 percent solution to defeat every drone – the silver bullet,” Ross concluded. “What we need is a layered defence: awareness, different capabilities and an ecosystem that works together so we can defeat threats consistently.”
Continued collaboration between government and industry will be essential to developing those layered defences and ensuring effective integration of c-sUAS technologies.
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Image: US Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, JIATF-401 director, speaks to industry partners on counter small Uncrewed Aerial Systems (c-sUAS) strategies during JIATF 401 c-sUAS Industry Day at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Alexandria, Va., March 5, 2026. (US Army photo by Sgt. Tien Dat Ngo)
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