France Faces Multiple Challenges in Drone Warfare

Reference News Network, May 16 report The French magazine "Le Point" published an article titled "France's Ace in Drone Warfare" on May 11, authored by Emmanuel Chiva, former director of the French Armaments Agency. The full text is excerpted as follows:

Current events indicate that the war in the field of drones is in full swing. In Ukraine, drones have long become the grenades of 21st-century infantry. In the Strait of Hormuz, just like in the Red Sea, drone attacks have now become the preferred method of operation for our competitors. So, how should we counterattack and defend ourselves?

The problem with drones is that their industry is dual-use, meaning it serves both military and civilian purposes. Nowadays, anyone can purchase a drone, whether it’s a French brand or an American brand, and anyone can equip it with payloads: it could be a camera, or it could be an explosive device, eavesdropping equipment, or intelligence-gathering devices. This is the crux of the drone issue: the industry is driven by entertainment, which allows for reduced costs and accelerated R&D. However, the counter-drone field is not dual-use. Therefore, we must find ways to counterattack and forge a shield to resist, but there are issues of lagging behind.

How do we combat a drone? A missile is certainly sufficient to accomplish the task, but when a "Mistral" air defense missile worth over 3 million euros shoots down an Iranian "Shahed" drone worth only a few thousand euros, the math is clear: it was the drone that shot down the missile. Therefore, we must further exercise our imagination. This is precisely the multiple challenges that France faces: detection, identification, and suppression.

Detection: The difficulty lies in identifying the drone while also sharing relevant identification information with other systems. Because there are numerous detection systems, and they come from various sources: the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, and private operators. On a rooftop not far from the Stade de France, a modular anti-drone protection system developed by Thales and the CS Group has been deployed, allowing for the sharing of detection trajectories and tactical situations among national departments. However, information needs to be shared across different systems: a suspicious drone should not be detected multiple times but should undergo detection confirmation and elimination of doubts: this is the role played by the data fusion system called SAP developed by the National Center for Space Studies.

Identification: What are we facing? This is one of the most critical challenges. Is it a private operator filming a wedding? Or a terrorist organization conducting reconnaissance, or even taking offensive action? This is by no means easy, especially when civilians are exposed. In the Red Sea or the Strait of Hormuz, although the risks are real, they are relatively easier to manage.

Our frigates have faced threats from Houthi forces and found themselves in a dilemma: is this a reconnaissance drone? An attack drone? Or a missile? In response to this dilemma, France is taking action. The French Navy and the Armaments Agency have deployed a device that installs the PASEO targeting system on frigates operating in the Red Sea, capable of identifying threats from 50 kilometers away and selecting the most appropriate countermeasure: should we use the cannon of a Mirage 2000 fighter jet or helicopter? Or should we take deception or jamming measures?

Suppression: Shooting down a drone cannot be done recklessly. In the airspace of a combat zone, this is not a problem; various weapons such as guns and missiles can be used. But if a drone flies over a residential area, the situation is entirely different. Suppressing a drone must not result in its falling and subsequently crashing into innocent people. Faced with this dilemma, many solutions are powerless: electromagnetic pulse weapons cannot be used because they may endanger everyone in the crowd wearing pacemakers; nor can we allow the drone to fall. This dilemma has led to a project led by the Defense Innovation Agency, aimed at developing a "drone catcher" that can capture drones.

In an open combat environment, solutions are easier to implement. For example, in the face of ammunition shortages, laser weapons and other equipment can come into play. Focusing the beam can either blind the drone or destroy it, which requires maintaining focus on the target drone for several seconds. This demands extremely high precision and immense energy. The USS George H.W. Bush, deployed off the coast of the Strait of Hormuz, possesses such capabilities. France also has this capability and is one of the few countries that can deploy laser weapons.

The drone war has already begun: in the face of these flying machines, we must conceive countermeasures that are commensurate with the scale of the challenge. This requires innovative solutions and disruptive technologies. France, a land rich in engineers and scientists, will not fall behind in this competition. (Translated by Zhao Kexin)