As drone threats grow and develop globally, the Army is investing in small-unmanned aircraft systems and counter-small UAS capabilities, defense leaders said before the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee.

“We fully acknowledge the threat and the proliferation of these systems, both abroad and at home, and we collectively … are acting with urgency,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Collins, principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology. “We are generating momentum, and we are aggressively pressing ahead.”

The threat from small-UASs “is present and constantly evolving,” said Maj. Gen. David Stewart, director of the Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office.

“Conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine demonstrate how advances in hardware, software and tactics are making drones more autonomous, easily acquired and deadlier,” he said during the May 1 hearing. “Compared to the IEDs that killed and injured thousands of American service members, UASs are more dangerous because they actively surveil, target and deliver lethal effects from the air.”

When it comes to detecting small UAS threats, “there is no silver bullet,” Stewart said. “Each service and each installation will have different circumstances based mostly on the threat. … There are multiple ways to navigate [threats], whether that's using radio frequency, uplink, downlink, using waypoints through satellites or loading optics and using the terrain to fly,” he said. “There's no one single way to detect these different threats, so you need a system of systems approach.”

Within the U.S., Army installations can quickly and effectively collaborate with local partners, Collins said. Citing as an example drone activity at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, he said the Army learned to do “cross collaboration with state, local and federal authorities.”

Small UASs remain a threat to U.S. troops, Collins wrote in his written statement to the subcommittee. “The proliferation of [small] UAS presents an evolving and asymmetric threat to United States and allied forces, requiring a layered, adaptable, and multi-domain approach,” he wrote. “Due to the current and future security challenges presented by our adversaries, we will have to continue to work as a department and with Congress to quickly adapt to the ever-changing landscape.”