Great to see Singaporean anti-drone equipment showcased at a NATO war game, codenamed LIVEX Immediate Response 2025, in the Xanthi region in northern Greece earlier this week.
We understand that Made in Singapore countermeasures to fibre-optic drones drew keen interest from the Greek Army and NATO armies at the exercise. Fibre-optic drones are more difficult to counter as the signals that control the drone are sent from the drone pilot to the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) via thin fibre-optic filaments and cannot be jammed or interfered with, unlike drones controlled by radio signals.
Unlike click-bait headlines that claim fibre-optic drones are "effectively unstoppable", such drones can be stopped that same way any aerial intruder is dealt with by an air defence network: by shooting it down.
Fibre-optic drones fielded in Ukraine have demonstrated the capability to skirt past anti-drone defences designed to counter drones controlled by radio signals.
Hybrid anti-drone solutions developed in Singapore are known to include active and passive components. The active component might include a weapon with a high rate of fire, such as a heavy calibre MG or automatic grenade launcher with airburst munitions, while the passive component could comprise a broadband RF jammer.
Hybrid solutions would typically mount active and passive anti-drone components on the same mounting, usually on a wheeled or tracked vehicle, thus conferring defenders the capability to counter drones whatever their guidance mechanism.
Anti-drone assets are best deployed with overlapping coverage for their range rings, especially around key installations or manoeuvre units.
Such units also need to be deployed in sufficient numbers to defeat drone swarms. As anti-drone assets are likely to be limited in number due to their cost and degree of training required for anti-drone units, proper intelligence preparation of the battlefield is essential to stay one step ahead of the adversary's use of drones.
Note the small unmanned ground vehicle scurrying past the column of MBTs.
Heartened to learn yesterday that some Warthogs found their way to service in Ukraine, supplied by Germany! How they got to Germany in the first place is a mystery in itself. From the British?
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