Canadian Armed Forces joined with regional allies in South-East Poland in December to learn about air defence, focusing on counter-uncrewed aircraft system (C-UAS) technology.
A January 27 post on the Canadian government’s website said the training was coordinated by Major Keir Calvert, an Operation UNIFIER Liaison Officer. UNIFER is a training and capacity building mission in support of Ukraine. “A defence against UAS requires integration across the board,” said Major Calvert. “This effort needs to start at the human level in order to achieve integration at the systems level.”
Hosted by United States Army’s 1st Cavalry Division Artillery, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Trent Huntsinger and his team provided a series of lectures and familiarisation tours of air defence assets including the Bal Chatri counter small-UAS and the Dronebuster C-UAS system.
The UNIFIER training elements have increasingly focused on preparing Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) trainees to operate in a UAS-contested environment, using drones to simulate threats during practical exercises and providing drones to trainees to use for reconnaissance.
One observation made by members of UNIFIER’s Engineer Training Element (ETE) was the widespread use of thermal imaging on modern drones. Discussions included hiding thermal signatures to help avoid detection and targeting from enemy drones. Captain Eric Sherwood, Officer Commanding ETE, noted that “modern camouflage works well against the naked eye and other optical sensors but doesn’t allow troops to hide their heat signature from thermal imaging. Understanding how drones leverage infrared sensors will be incorporated into ETE training provided to AFU members, helping them survive these threats and ultimately enabling them to achieve their objectives.”
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Image: Participants of the C-UAS course tour a SA-8 air defence vehicle, in Poland, on December 11, 2024. (Canadian Armed Forces)
