Emerging threats from uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), US Department of Defense (DoD) and National Guard integration in advanced air mobility, the integration of UAS in interagency operations, and counter-UAS (C-UAS) initiative development were discussed at this week’s annual UAS and launched effects symposium.
This second annual symposium was hosted by the Oklahoma National Guard (OKNG) in partnership with the Oklahoma State University’s Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education (OAIRE) and the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics at the Oklahoma State University Hamm Institute for American Energy in Oklahoma City, January 21-22.
Experts in policy, readiness and research within the UAS industry, academia and national defence gathered to discuss the current and future requirements of a rapidly evolving threat environment.
OAIRE director Jamey Jacob, Ph.D., P.E. spoke on the “exponential rate that UAS technology is advancing” and how the US can work to counter those threats.
“One of the great things about the symposium is bringing the community together, National Guard, DoD representatives, vendors, academia – and really the thought leaders in the counter-UAS space are here to try to figure out how we solve those problems,” Jacob said.
Lt. Col. Brent Hill, deputy director of the Oklahoma National Guard UAS/LE program, said conflicts around the globe have demonstrated the need for collaboration between the National Guard, DoD, academia, and the private sector to ensure US service members gain and maintain an advantage in UAS-based warfare.
“Those partnerships with academia, other National Guard states, our in-state partners, and industry partners are critical to help us accelerate,” Hill said.
The OKNG’s C-UAS initiative aims to train alongside civilian aerospace industry experts and local partners to enhance mission readiness in aviation and aerospace technologies of the future to provide National Guardsmen with innovative and future-focused training and experiences.
“I’ve spent the last two years on this problem set, nested with what Major General Mancino hopes to accomplish,” said Col. Shane Riley, director of the OKNG UAS/LE programme, adding the programme has evolved over the last two years thanks in part to the partnerships formed at the first counter-UAS/LE symposium.
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Image: OAIRE’s Jacob speaks during the second annual OKNG UAS/LE Symposium on January 21, 2025. (Oklahoma National Guard photo by Anthony Jones)
