Diehl Defence demonstrates drone defence expertise
The company tested the effectiveness of both its Kinetic Defence Vehicle (KDV) and the eMissile CICADA,
which is part of the Sky Sphere system, against drone attacks at the Grafenwoehr military training area.
which is part of the Sky Sphere system, against drone attacks at the Grafenwoehr military training area.
Diehl Defence, a leading supplier of ground-based air defence systems, has demonstrated the capabilities of two of its drone defence products with successfully completed test campaigns at the Grafenwoehr military training area.
The company tested the effectiveness of both its Kinetic Defence Vehicle (KDV) and the eMissile CICADA, which is part of the Sky Sphere system, against drone attacks at the Grafenwoehr military training area.
As part of this test campaign, the KDV provided proof of integration and effectiveness, that the threat posed by small drones can be eliminated through successful automatic detection, tracking and engagement. For the engagement of fixed wing drones, the proof of integration of a long-range effector was demonstrated with a successful intercept.
These results have successfully demonstrated the improved engagement effectiveness of the field-tested system which was achieved through AI automation, primary detection via radar and electro-optics as well as a secondary effector. The KDV is thus expanding its ability to protect highly mobile forces and stationary facilities from small drones at close range and from high-flying fixed wing drones.
At the same time, Diehl Defence tested the latest system demonstrators of the Sky Sphere drone defence system and the eMissile CICADA, using a container version for the trials. The focus of this campaign was on optimizing the entire sensor-to-shooter chain as well as the interception process in dynamic scenarios and with real hardware.
Sky Sphere is a modular drone defence system for the detection, classification and engagement of drone threats and covers the innermost layer in Diehl Defence's multi-layered air defence approach. Among others, Sky Sphere can integrate the new CICADA effector. The eMissile CICADA is an innovative, electrically powered effector system that is being developed specifically for the defence against NATO Class I and smaller NATO Class II drones. CICADA can alternatively use either a fragmentation warhead developed by Diehl Defence or a non-lethal net to neutralize drones.
