Who is doing this?
A US warship fired at a drone that was terrorizing a Navy destroyer off the coast of California for weeks in 2019 after the Navy deployed special ‘ghostbuster’ teams to deal with them, new documents reveal.
Interesting. First I have seen this.
Same here. I only know what’s in the article.
Interesting.
First thing that crossed my mind was ELINT (which was my old NEC as an airdale).
If the drones were pre-programed to operate independently, that is one thing. Although the level of sophistication would be massive for that to occur.
On the other hand, if the drones are remote controlled, then the #1 priority is intercepting the control transmissions TO the drones. Find their RF range and transmission parameters and record them while attempting to triangulate a location.
I think there is more that the Navy has done than is admitted to in the article.
WW
ATC(AW/NAC)
USN Ret.
They mentioned in the article interfering with the radio signals of the drones but then failed to say whether or not that was successful.
Centrally commanded is out of the question.
Autonomous does not mean uncooperative. The drones are surely communicating with each other and possibly a central control but making their own decisions.
My opinion is that the Navy is launching simulated hostile expendable drone swarms against its own ships to assess its own defenses.
It did, but there is a difference between jamming and ELINT.
In a jamming scenario you are transmitting signals in the same frequency range as the transmission you are attempting to block. For example if someone is 5 feet away and is whispering instructions to you and then someone behind you fires off an air horn. It will drown out the whispers so they can’t be understood. Targeted or broadband jamming can work the same way by transmitting higher power signals to drown out the control signals.
ELINT on the other hand is passively receiving the signals, recording them and analyzing them for future use. In other words (EL)ectronic (INT)telligence can be gathered. Information can include the frequency range of operation, type of modulation, if time correlation along with video of the drones can be sync’d and the changes in signal correlated to specific drone actions. If so then it may be possible to “spoof” future incursions and actually take control of the drones. Then there is the use of triangulation to locate the source of the signal. This can take some time of you have a single point receiver as the receiver has to move. If there are multiple points of reception then triangulations can be almost instantaneous (or to be redundant, be done in real time).
WW
That thought crossed my mind too, and it made sense.
Very cool. 
What doesn’t make sense is the weapons engagement. They are firing something that fires single shots and has a propellant charge large enough eject onto deck. The only thing like that is the auto loading 5 inch gun system. The CIWS and 25/30 mm guns fire single piece shells. The logs don’t report CIWS or auto cannon fire.
Definitely ours.
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I didn’t review any info about thus particular event. But air bursts seem reasonable to take out a swarm… depending on the density of the swarm… Maybe they are just trying them out.
Most of what I know comes not from info on hostile threats but on our own systems that are in development… and my info is now a year old… and is for Army/Air Force . Navy always does their own thing but is always similar but with some twist that allow them to claim separate funding for their very unique needs.
So whether they are playing red force games to test their own defenses or testing their own drones … who knows. But they would have no hesitation to engage and destroy the relatively cheap and unmanned drones in either case.
I doubt hostile forces are involved. At that location.
PS. I’m sure you know not to believe anything that is “public” information. A cover story for any advanced R&D would read just like that article .
I’ve heard it said the military is constantly developing/testing technology that is ten to fifteen years ahead of what the public is aware of.
One just has to think of the skunk works.
But the electron lasers they are deploying would be much more effective against small drones.
More than that even.
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Drones make good practice targets … bring 'em on!
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Drones from alien world. Covid was introduced as an experiment from outer space. They are here to take over and we cannot do anything about it.
Does anybody else believe they were “terrorized”?
I don’t.
Not at all. Big time hyperbole.
Pestered LOL.
