U.S., U.K. Test BLADE Counter-Drone System Mounted on Stryker in Poland

Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment and the U.K.’s 1st Royal Yorkshire Regiment tested counter-drone technologies during live-fire training at the Bemowo Piskie Training Area in northeast Poland on August 1.

The exercise, known as Project Flytrap 4.0, included the use of the Ballistic Low Altitude Drone Engagement (BLADE) system mounted on a Stryker vehicle. BLADE engaged and defeated drones at distances between 500 and 800 meters, including scenarios where multiple targets were flown at once.

“Some of those threats were being flown simultaneously, so the system defeated one target then quickly targeted and defeated a second target in a matter of seconds,” said David Goldstein, counter-unmanned aerial systems lead at the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center.

BLADE integrates radar and counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) software with the Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station (CROWS), which allows soldiers to operate weapons from inside armored vehicles. In Poland, the system was paired with an M2 .50-caliber machine gun firing burst rounds against drones.

The training also included the use of the Collaborative Networked Automated Lethality Tool (CNALT), which provides real-time fire control and reduces the time needed to identify and attack moving targets. Soldiers required only 15 minutes of instruction before using CNALT to track and generate engagement recommendations during the drills.

Jonathan Gann, a mechanical engineering technician at the Armaments Center, said the BLADE system was installed and operational on a Stryker vehicle in Poland within two weeks of the Army’s request. Soldiers then tested the system in live-fire scenarios while providing feedback on tactics and potential improvements.

Since reaching technology readiness level six in 2019, BLADE has been tested in multiple U.S. Army and allied exercises, including Project Convergence and Operation Hard Kill in the Middle East. The Army Armaments Center is now working to transition the system into programs for future fielding.