SPX Communication Technologies took part in NATO’s Baltic TRUST 26 (BATT26) exercise in Riga, Latvia in August. The company’s BlackTalon Ecosystem counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) capability was one of four selected for an operational role and used by Allied military operators during a training exercise.
BATT26 is part of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation’s (ACT) Layered Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Initiative (LCI-X) programme of operational experimentation, bringing together Allied forces with industry.
LCI-X is evaluating whether systems can deliver battlefield effects. Captain Joe Pisoni, United States Navy, Director of LCI-X, said technical interoperability is only the starting point. “The real test is whether military and industry systems can work together in the field, support commanders and give operators the information they need at the speed of the fight. Baltic TRUST 26 allows us to take promising technologies beyond connectivity and prove how they contribute to integrated battlefield capability.”
Developed by Enterprise Control Systems, part of the SPX Communication Technologies Group, BlackTalon Ecosystem is a fielded open-architecture C-UAS system. It integrates with multiple sensors, including radar, EO/IR, passive RF, acoustic sensing and electronic attack, enabling operators to add or change capabilities as threats change rather than redesign a system each time.
At BATT26, the BlackTalon sensor suite was raised to give operators a clear line of sight over the 30m-plus Baltic pine canopy. The system was tasked with receiving and fusing the available sensor data from six other companies alongside its own, and then determine how to best serve the mission playing out. SPX said this was successfully completed.
BlackTalon Ecosystem remains in the region following BATT26, with further demonstrations and army trials planned across the Baltics and Eastern Europe over the coming months. Participation in BATT26 does not constitute NATO endorsement.
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