The threat of unmanned aerial system attacks on American forces in the Middle East gave American Central Command reasons for increasing the training and preparation of bases in the theater of operations.
Airmen at Ali Al Salem Air Base, in Kuwait, continued this ongoing effort to protect and defend the facility against UAS threats.
“We take care of the airspace in our region,” said Sergeant Daniel Butts, a non-commissioned officer with 386 Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron tasked with countering small unmanned aerial systems. “So we’re here to detect, track, identify and then, if necessary, defeat.
US Air Force and The American army Assets stepped up their c-SUAS efforts, which helped develop seminars to provide guidance on how the 386th ESFS counteracts drone threats.
“The seminars are an individual opportunity for senior management to understand what our capabilities are,” said Butts. “These systems provide real-time video or image and leaders now have a better understanding of how others could use them. “
United States Marine Corps General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the commander of the US Central Command told a US Senate committee earlier this year that the UAS is “the most worrying tactical development in the CENTCOM area of operations since the rise of improvised explosive devices.”
Attacks in 2021 on coalition forces in Iraq and Syria prompted others in the area of responsibility to step up their c-SUAS and c-UAS programs.
This unconventional base defense has guided the mindset of security forces protecting themselves against UAS attacks.
“We call it the ‘chain of destruction’ … detect, track, identify and defeat,” Butts explained. “The main thing is to detect so that we can see it and follow it. Once we are able to track it, we will identify it, which is essential to help us understand whether it is hostile or not and to what extent. Then we can defeat it.
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