Keeping one step ahead of the next UAS threat: Interview with Misho Tkalcevic, CTO at TCI

European Security & Defence speaks with Misho Tkalcevic, Chief Technology Officer at TCI (part of SPX CommTech), on emerging AUS threats and the specialised Radio Frequency (RF) technologies keeping defence teams one step ahead.

Q: How are today’s defence teams engaging with UAS technology?

A: Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have advanced significantly and both specialist military-grade and commercial drones are playing critical roles in conflict in Europe and further afield. Importantly, these devices use the Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum to facilitate accurate and real-time situational intelligence gathering and communications across teams, improving strategic decision-making, interception of enemy data ex­change, and the defeat of malicious UAS.

A more emerging development is the use of UAS in enabling network-centric warfare to become more data-centric. UAS are con­nected to a network of other communica­tions and intelligence-gathering devices to paint an accurate picture of a situation from many vantage points, creating significant in­formation advantage for dispersed defence teams. Teams with the most precise infor­mation from multiple sources will likely win and, to do so successfully, the information exchange must be instantaneous so that the best tactical and deployment decisions can be made.

Q: What challenges do commercial drones present on the battlefield?

A: Today, drones and UAVs are used on both sides of the conflict, from Ukraine to Israel and beyond. The weaponisation of commercial drones has been driven by their increased accessibility and subsequent lower cost, creating new challenges for security and the battlefield.

Firstly, amateur drones can have a dispro­portionate impact for their cost and size, potentially destroying military kit thousands of times more expensive. Secondly, detect­ing and defeating commercial drones can be a challenge. Traditional RF radars are ef­fective at detecting large airborne threats, but hostile compact commercial drones, travelling at increased or decreased speeds, are much harder to detect and therefore de­feat. The RF detect for commercial drones means these existing systems need to be re-calibrated. Another challenge lies in how defence organisations appropriately priori­tise and respond to threats. Using high-cost military-grade UAS to respond to low-cost UAS threats, usually deployed in volume, often doesn’t make sense.

Q: What’s driving innovation in this space and what could the future hold?

A: Access to technology and the agility of commercial communications are driving im­provements to communications intelligence (COMINT) and counter-UAS. As a result of commercial devices being introduced in mod­ern battlefields, we will no doubt continue to witness an interesting pollination between commercial and military communications. Es­sentially, striking a balance between acces­sibility and the right technology will deter­mine if there is a more disruptive solution that might change the defence landscape.

Q: How is SPX CommTech planning to iden­tify and deliver the appropriate solution?

A: At SPX CommTech we’re learning on a daily basis by listening to the experi­ence and needs of customers, partners and those on the battlefield. By combin­ing decades of technology innovation and expertise with agile and collaborative teams, we’re focused on delivering sustain­able and exceptional results to customers across the globe.

For instance, our Battlespace portfolio ena­bles defence teams to safely detect, defeat and exploit RF signals to enhance COMINT and counter-UAS. BLACKTALON detects, tracks and defeats UAS engaged in hostile activity or surveillance by a nuisance drone enthusiast, insurgents, state actors or hostile militaries. Already deployed in Eastern Eu­rope, BLACKTALON provides comprehen­sive situational awareness and mitigation as a standalone or networked capability, as a multi-layered counter-UAS, or as a compo­nent of a Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) system. We also recently introduced an up­grade to our BLACKBIRD COMINT and drone detection and geolocation software.

Ultimately, our main goal is to innovate and de­liver specialised technologies to defence teams for a smarter, more secure future for all.

For more information on SPX CommTech’s solutions visit www.tcibr.com.