Leonardo has been spirally developing its trusted Falcon Shield system for over a decade, working closely with its customers and responding to emerging threats to futureproof its world-leading Counter-Uncrewed Air Systems (C-UAS) capability.
Drones are cheap to acquire, easy to modify and difficult to spot in congested airspace, making the task of countering them more challenging than ever. Falcon Shield is designed to detect, track, identify and defeat Class 1, 2 and 3 UAS, up to approximately 600kg, using a modular, integrated system of sensors and effectors.
But how does it work?
The Threats
While there are many legitimate uses and users of drones or Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS), it is relatively easy to turn a commercial off-the-shelf platform into a weapon that can cause significant damage and loss of life. Recent conflicts have also shown how paramilitary groups and state actors can use modified commercial UAS, as well as Uncrewed Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs), to target and destroy high-value assets and damage Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).
Rogue drones are now a persistent security challenge - cheap to acquire, easy to modify, and difficult to spot in cluttered airspace. They are being used for surveillance, to cause disruption to our everyday lives, or in the most severe cases they are the means of delivering a payload to its target.
Put simply, the risk profile is broad and constantly evolving. Countering this threat reliably demands more than just a single sensor or a standalone effector: it requires a layered C-UAS capability that can detect, identify, track and defeat targets at range – and one that is always faster than the threats moving towards it.
The Answer
Falcon Shield integrates all components required to detect rogue drones, track their movements, identify them and, if required, defeat them through a variety of means. The system’s operators use Leonardo’s HYAS Command and Control (C2) interface which fuses data fed into Falcon Shield by its integrated sensors.
Active sensors such as radars transmit radio waves, detecting and analysing the waves that return to determine an object’s distance, direction and speed.
Passive sensors include Electronic Support Measures (ESM) and Radio Frequency (RF) detection systems which analyse signals emitted by devices, determining how they communicate, which hints at their purpose and intent. Additionally, electrooptical sensors can enable operators to visually detect, identify and track drones using daylight and infrared modes.
If a potential threat is detected through any of these means, the operator will be visually and audibly alerted. The C2 system prioritises threats in order of severity, providing its operator with all available options. Selecting the appropriate means of defeating the drone is entirely down to the human operator – but the system will recommend the most appropriate choice at that moment.
At the heart of detecting, identifying and tracking drones is Nerio, Leonardo’s world-class system combining electrooptical surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance. Nerio comes in several variants including Ultra-Long Range (ULR), optimised for long-range defence and capable of detecting a Class 1 UAS from over 16km away, and Very Long Range (Mobile) which is optimised for use on a vehicle while on the move.
With a drone detected at considerable distance, a Falcon Shield operator now has longer to monitor its movements and understand whether it poses a threat. They can then choose how to defeat the target from a range of effectors, which consists of soft-kill and hard-kill capabilities.
Soft Kill / Non-Kinetic Effectors:
- Radio Frequency (RF) effectors – Interfering with or denying the use of the electromagnetic spectrum to prevent a drone from contacting its operator.
- Cyber effectors – Using weaknesses in a drone’s software to take control of the platform, forcing a landing or returning it to its operator.
Hard Kill / Kinetic Effectors:
- Projectiles – From large, medium to small calibre systems selected on the basis of drone type and operational scenario, including missile launchers, to physically knock a drone out of the sky.
- Drone Interceptors – Using drones specifically designed to hunt down and take out other platforms which pose a threat.
- Laser Directed Energy Weapons – Integration with laser-based weapons in the future.
All sensor data captured by components of Falcon Shield can be shared with other complementary systems in the area, creating a network of layered protection against hostile drones, and a more integrated air defence picture for operators and commanders.
This data sharing can also include other Falcon Shield systems, such as variants including fixed-site, containerised and mobile. These have been designed with specific use cases in mind, based on the needs of our operators.
Falcon Shield is constantly being developed, tested and integrated with the world’s best sensors and effectors. This provides Leonardo’s customers with the most choice when creating and developing their layered counter-drone system, ensuring it can be trusted to defeat current and emerging threats.
Central to the system’s spiral development are the close working relationships we have with our customers – critical to ensuring our system is fit for purpose now, and into the future. Leonardo works closely with the Royal Air Force and Italian Air Force, at home and on operations overseas, to enable the protection of our people, places and platforms – wherever they are in the world.
How would this work in reality?
Scenario 1 – Protecting a High-Profile Event
Picture a major public event taking place in a capital city. The public are expected to flock to the city in their tens of thousands, and all echelons of the country’s security and policing infrastructure are poised to react should anything untoward occur.
In this scenario there is no appetite for the use of hard kill effectors due to the population density and potential for collateral damage; a layered C-UAS system with soft-kill effectors is required. The system would include active and passive sensors, such as radars, ESM and RF-detect capabilities, complemented by soft-kill defeat systems, using RF-jamming and cyber techniques to disable or re-route any rogue drones.
A small, commercial off-the-shelf UAS lifts off within the area of interest. Falcon Shield’s radar and ESM rapidly detect and classify the drone, slewing the system’s electrooptical sensor Nerio ULR to the target. It is tracked, visually identified and deemed to be a potential threat. Operators are presented with their options, based on the effectors integrated at that time. They select and deploy a cyber effect, which commands the drone to land at a specific area, where Police are waiting for it. Meanwhile, Police have been dispatched to the drone’s point of origin and swiftly arrest the drone operator.
Scenario 2 – Protecting an Operational Airfield
Next, picture an operational air base where a country’s armed forces are deployed on an Air Policing mission. There is an active threat of hostile drones targeting the runway, aircraft, aircrew and infrastructure – so Falcon Shield is deployed with both hard-kill and soft-kill effectors.
Falcon Shield’s C2 system alerts the operator of a potential threat, detected at range by one of the system’s radars. Nerio ULR slews to the target to give the operator the ability to visually track and identify it. The operator confirms that it is indeed a threat – a One-Way Attack (OWA) drone is heading directly for the airfield.
The system is configured with interceptor drones, designed to fly into an OWA drone to disable its flight controls or cause its payload to detonate mid-air. The operator decides there is no risk to life by launching an interceptor drone, as the target is above empty land. The command is given. An interceptor drone fires towards its target, making contact, which forces a detonation mid-air.
These scenarios are fictitious and are not based on any specific event, but they are broadly representative of Falcon Shield and its capabilities.