Overview
- Yuma Proving Ground set up three permanent counter‑UAS lanes during the multi‑week Falcon Peak 26.2 exercise that ran through most of September to test systems in desert conditions that mirror the southern border.
- Each lane focuses on a distinct function—sensors to detect drones, electronic defeat systems to jam or take control, and kinetic weapons to shoot them down—and range staff are creating standardized spec sheets and measurement baselines for repeatable evaluations.
- Falcon Peak 26.2 was the first test to use Anduril’s Lattice as the baseline command‑and‑control for sensor‑to‑shooter evaluation, and Yuma is the first range to deploy Lattice for formal test and evaluation.
- Joint Interagency Task Force 401 ran the experiment in support of U.S. Northern Command and Joint Task Force Southern Border, drew senior leadership attention, and involved multiple vendors whose detailed performance results have not been publicly released.
- The testing ran in parallel with a procurement push: on Sept. 28 the Army awarded counter‑drone contract ceilings of about $4.15 billion to 10 companies for the Domestic Shield effort, a move that could speed fielding of interoperable systems to protect bases and border operations.