A new Virginia Tech effort will take aim at bolstering the nation’s defenses against uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), commonly called drones.
A recent $5 million award from the U.S. Army Futures Command Combat Capabilities Development Command C5ISR Center will augment capabilities at the existing Counter UAS Research and Testing Center that will include an unparalleled ecosystem of drone research with outdoor, indoor, and virtual labs working in tandem. Led by the Virginia Tech National Security Institute and the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), these efforts will leverage the long-standing expertise of both organizations to help the Department of Defense and law enforcement mitigate threats from both novice drone users and nefarious actors.
“MAAP has experience conducting research around the domestic threat, whereas the National Security Institute has expertise in adversarial nation threats,” said Austin Phoenix, director of the institute’s Mission Systems Division. “Bringing together MAAP’s ability to do dynamic, high-volume drone testing work within Federal Aviation Administration regulations and our expertise in security research, artificial intelligence, radio frequency systems, and system modeling will allow us to really push the bounds of the country’s UAS and counter-UAS capabilities.”…