NATO exercise practices coordinating defences against small drones | News

NATO is working to coordinate the lower tier air defences of its members against hard-to-spot and difficult to shoot down small unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).

The alliance organised an exercise from 2 to 12 November in Vredepeel, the Netherlands to test ways allied nations can work together to defend against small, exploding drones, it says on 11 November.

Small UAVs – sometimes hobby drones armed with improvised explosives – are increasingly being used by combatants in the Middle East and Ukraine. The drones are cheap, but hard to detect and shoot down because of their small size, quiet electric motors and low-altitude flight.

“Malicious actors have made use of low-cost hobby drones in recent years, creating a potential security threat to allies,” says Cristian Coman, lead for counter-drone activities with the NATO Communications and Information Agency. “The misuse of small drones represents a significant and growing risk to operations and day-to-day defence…