Spanish firm ESCRIBANO Mechanical and Engineering has participated in the Technical Interoperability Exercise 2023 (TIE23) on NATO Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS), which took place from 12 to 22 September 2023 in Vredepeel in the Netherlands, the company announced on 25 September.
Organised by the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) in co-operation with the Dutch Ministry of Defence, the exercise involved more than 50 companies and organisations. Building on the achievements of TIE22, the aim of this year’s exercise was to further address the interoperability of C-UAS systems in scenarios relevant to NATO operations. During the live test exercise, companies and organisations communicated and worked together to ensure that NATO nations’ C-UAS capabilities can protect NATO airspace from unauthorised uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).
ESCRIBANO M&E participated in TIE23 with its Guardian 2.0 system: a highly integrated remote weapon station (RWS) designed for 12.7 mm calibre machine guns, although the system can also accommodate 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm machine guns as well as the 40 mm MK-19 grenade launcher. The Guardian 2.0 is a dual-axis, gyro-stabilised RWS capable of day and night operation and can be mounted on various platforms or vehicles.
Last July the company demonstrated the effectiveness of Guardian 2.0 as a hard-kill threat reduction system in an exercise conducted at the El Arenosillo Experimental Center (CEDEA) in Huelva, Spain.
ESCRIBANO M&E’s Guardian 2.0 and OTEOS electro-optical system are part of the hard-kill solution for downing hostile UAVs already integrated and tested in the C-UAS developed by Spanish company TRC. This system, also 100% Spanish, incorporates artificial intelligence to automatically detect, identify and inhibit possible threats using high-frequency detection devices developed by TRC.
“The scenarios that NATO will have to face in the future require effective and practicable solutions that favour the recovery of European industrial capabilities,” ESCRIBANO M&E stated in a press release. “This is where this 100% Spanish system is positioned as one of the most advanced, versatile, and economical alternatives, since it is based on cutting-edge technology that allows the use of equipment and ammunition already in service.”
Events in the Ukraine War and other conflicts over the last decade have highlighted C-UAS capabilities as a priority for NATO nations.
