University of North Dakota to Help Pentagon Evaluate Counter-Drone Technologies
The University of North Dakota and the Northern Plains UAS Test Site will help a US Defense Department task force, JIATF-401, identify promising counter-drone systems. The agreement is described as the first of its kind between a US university and the task force.
The University of North Dakota (UND), together with the Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site (NPUASTS), signed a memorandum of understanding last month with the Pentagon's Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF-401), which coordinates counter-drone defenses across all US armed services. The document was signed at the 20th UAS Summit & Expo in Grand Forks, North Dakota. According to the university's statement, UND becomes the first and only US university to serve as a clearinghouse for the task force's counter-drone technology work.
What the university will do
UND will provide research and technical expertise to help the task force decide which emerging counter-drone technologies merit further development. Mark Askelson, UND's associate vice president for research – national security, said the university was chosen because of its long record in drone and counter-drone research. In recent years it has also worked with various agencies on developing, testing and evaluating counter-UAS systems.
The memorandum does not define the exact working relationship, but will serve as a roadmap for future cooperation. Earlier this year JIATF-401 launched the C-UAS Marketplace, a centralized procurement platform that connects approved vendors with buyers in the US and allied armed forces. Askelson said the university and test site could be asked to evaluate systems for possible inclusion on that platform.
Open questions
Initial talks have not settled whether the partners would assess detect-and-identify systems or drone-mitigation systems. Financial terms have not been agreed either, though Askelson expects the final contract to include funding for hiring staff and supporting research. Victor Meza, NPUASTS marketing manager, said the test site will act as a consultant, sharing its experience and advising on how to test the technologies.
The Pentagon has already looked to North Dakota's counter-drone expertise this year: military officials and developers met near Devils Lake to evaluate emerging counter-UAS systems at the T-REX experimentation event.
