US Army soldiers, air defenders, procurement staff and commercial vendors gathered in Germany for a civil and military counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) technology event from November 10 -21.
Project FlyTrap 4.5 gave stakeholders the opportunity to test C-UAS technology against simulated threats from drones operating in NATO airspace. The products involved were required to demonstrate their ability to either detect, discriminate or defeat the various air threats.
For detection and discrimination purposes, vendors used either passive or active radars. For the defeat objectives, there were displays of kinetic defeat mechanisms as well as one that caused no collateral damage.
“We have to start thinking about the group ones, the group twos [and] the group threes, the smaller and cheaper systems,” said Col. Haileyesus (Hailey) Bairu, the US Army’s 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade commander.
During the early days of the event, all participating products were evaluated for their ability to connect to the brigade’s forward area air defence command and control system. This network allows all systems to communicate effectively. The US Army said this was achieved during Project FlyTrap 4.5 “increasing the value of these systems for potential procurement by NATO countries for the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line”.
A competition, xTechCounterStrike, was launched as part of the planning for Project FlyTrap 4.5, inviting C-UAS technology from small and large businesses worldwide to compete for a two-phase cash prize. Vendors were offered the opportunity to join the US military’s new G-TEAD Marketplace, making them eligible for potential follow-on agreements and contracting opportunities.
“We were tasked specifically to accelerate the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line. With that, we went through some deliberate planning of what we currently had in terms of tools and resources at our disposal,” said Maj. Joshua McMillion, G-TEAD’s capability lead. “We quickly realised one of the easiest ways to accelerate that capability is to partner with existing companies and existing organisations”.
During the first phase, 15 finalists from over 200 companies were chosen to showcase their abilities at Project FlyTrap 4.5, earning a USD 50,000 cash prize. Of those 15 finalists, 11 were able to travel to Putlos, Germany, to participate in the second phase of the competition. After that, four were selected as winners, each receiving a USD 350,000 cash prize.
Project FlyTrap 5.0 is scheduled for March-April 2026.
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Image: Project FlyTrap 4.5 participants inspect an engaged drone on November 19, 2025. (US Army photo by Staff Sgt. Yesenia Cadavid)
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