Air Force surveys industry for technologies in EMP electromagnetic weapons to counter unmanned aircraft

Dec. 11, 2023
Proposed EMP solutions could be ground or aerial based that provide effective mitigation against large-, medium-, and small-sized military UAVs.

ROME, N.Y. – U.S. Air Force researchers are surveying industry for enabling technologies in using ground- or aircraft-based electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) generation to counter formations of enemy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate in Rome, N.Y., issued a request for information (RFI) on Thursday for the Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Defense Against Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) project.

EMP is an electromagnetic warfare weapon that generates high-power microwaves intended to destroy or disable sensitive electronic components -- such as the navigation, guidance, and sensor systems of UAVs.

EMP also is a byproduct of a nuclear explosion, which produces a devastatingly powerful electromagnetic field that causes massive power surges that can destroy electronics, power generation, and electric distribution systems.

Related: Army asks Lockheed Martin to develop UAV high-power microwave weapons to destroy or disable enemy drones

Proposed electromagnetic weapons EMP solutions for this counter-UAV project could be ground or aerial based that provide effective mitigation against large-, medium-, and small-sized military UAVs.

Proposed aerial solutions must be reusable, and made from U.S. components and electronics. Aerial and ground-based solutions must have some level of system autonomy; resist the effects of shock, dirt, water, and temperature extremes; and be able to operate at night.

Companies interested should email 10-page capability statements no later than 5 Jan. 2024 to the Air Force's Matthew Zawisza at [email protected].

More information is online at https://sam.gov/opp/0df436d156e046a1a7101409f1712c48/view.

About the Author

John Keller | Editor

John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.

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