FN Herstal announced that its deFNder® Family of Remote Weapon Stations was recently tested for countering Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) during the NATO NonLethal Technology Exercise (NNTEX-C) scheduled from 4 to 24 March at the PISC in Sardinia, Italy. The exercise was dedicated to the evaluation of current technologies against Low, Slow and Small (LSS) targets. The different systems were evaluated based on several factors, including efficiency, collateral damage, and ergonomics. For this purpose, FN Herstal developed a container-based perimeter defence solution incorporating a range of sensors (RF sensors and radars) with a combination of both soft and hard effectors. The overall system is operated by two operators protected inside the container. The sensors provide early detection and provide operators and commander with the localization of the detected targets on a 2D situational awareness map. This enhances the mission-critical decision-making process and allows a quick response and tasks allocation.

Regarding the effectors, the setup includes: Q Soft effector: As an escalation of force feature, the setup also includes a smart and scalable signal jammer that can be used as a first response against the UAV to disable the link between the drone and its operator before resorting to live-firing. Q Hard effector: – One deFNder® Light Remote Weapon Station, which can be fitted with the FN MINIMI® 5.56 or 7.62 or FN MAG® 7.62mm caliber – One deFNder® Medium, which can be fitted with the FN MAG® 7.62mm, .50 caliber weapons such as the FN® M2HB-QCB or FN® M3R, or a 40mm Automatic Grenade Launcher with airburst capacity.