ŠIAULIAI AIR BASE, Lithuania - A Spanish fighter wing deployed to the Baltics for air patrol missions alongside anti-drone defenses for the first time, a reaction to growing uncrewed threats to European infrastructure. Spain's 15th Wing arrived at Šiauliai Air Base in December to begin a four-month rotation contributing to NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission, designed to protect the airspace around Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The Crow counter-drone system came with it.
NOWA DĘBA, Poland - The interceptor drone darted across the sky, screaming toward its target, a hostile drone. Missing, it looped around for another try. The air battle, reminiscent of old-school dogfights, ended without a kill. The "Surveyor" interceptor drone dropped out of the fight, parachuting to the ground, while the enemy threat, a replica of Russia's infamous Shaheds, continued to fly.
As uncrewed aircraft, drones rely on electronic systems to function and, often, radio frequency (RF) connections guide them. Favored techniques to neutralize drones include "spoofing" and jamming. Spoofing involves beaming fake radio signals to the drone to misdirect it. RF jamming works to cut off communications with the base of operation. But militaries are finding new ways to counter these methods.