Edgesource was invited to demonstrate and test our Windtalker and Dowding technology’s ability to detect and defeat sUAS in a real-world environment in Alberta, Canada. The 2022 Sandbox event was led by the Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC), and coordinated with the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM). The 2022 theme was “effective detect and defeat technologies that can be integrated into broader military command and control systems” with an increased emphasis on “C-sUAS systems capable of defending critical infrastructure, vehicles and personnel from micro and mini UAS.” As changes in the UAS industry continue at a rapid pace and drone activity by hobbyists, commercial enterprises, and hostile actors skyrockets, the need for innovative leading-edge detection capabilities has never been more important.
There were five test scenarios presented, including defending a static Forward Operating Base (FOB), airfield, or VIP conference location, or defending a mobile vehicle. During the test scenarios, the Edgesource Windtalker and Dowding system was able to not only detect, identify, and accurately track all sUAS systems used during the test, the range testing was accurate over 35 kilometers, exceeding the maximum test range of 20 km. Windtalker and Dowding further demonstrated the extended early warning capability of the system by further identifying sUAS on separate test ranges that were not detectable by other systems at the event. Even when presented with a “swarm” of drones (multiple drones directed to the same target), the Windtalker and Dowding system successfully identified all sUAS drones simultaneously, only limited by the number of drones in the swarm. The success of Windtalker and Dowding at the event resulted in the use of the system as a benchmark for other systems being tested.
