Counter-UAS — Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Definition

Counter-UAS encompasses all measures taken to detect, identify, track, and neutralise unmanned aircraft systems that pose a threat to a protected person, location, or event. The term is used interchangeably with counter-drone, anti-drone, and C-UAS in various contexts. The discipline requires both technical capability (detection systems, defeat mechanisms) and legal authority — particularly for active defeat measures.

Threat categories

• Surveillance drones — commercially available platforms used for unauthorised reconnaissance of facilities, personnel, or events
• Harassment drones — platforms used to disrupt operations, intimidate, or provoke at close range
• Modified platforms — commercial drones altered to carry additional sensors, payloads, or autonomous capability
• Purpose-built military platforms — fixed-wing ISR drones, loitering munitions, and swarming systems (primarily relevant to defence and critical infrastructure)

Detection technologies

Professional counter-UAS programmes use sensor fusion — combining multiple detection methods to reduce gaps inherent in any single technology: RF detection (identifies drone-controller communications), acoustic sensors (detects propeller signatures), radar (covers large airspace volumes), and EO/IR cameras (provides visual confirmation and tracking).

Defeat options and legal constraints

In the Netherlands, active defeat measures — RF jamming, GPS spoofing, physical capture — require specific legal authority from the relevant regulatory body (Agentschap Telecom for RF jamming). Private operators without this authority are limited to detection and reporting. Mission Support designs programmes within applicable legal frameworks and advises clients on what defeat options are authorised for their specific context.