Washington: The Joint Interagency Task Force 401, established by the Pentagon as the military’s lead counter-drone organisation, plans to share data with the Golden Dome missile defence project to defend against threats from larger drones, US Army Brig Gen Matt Ross, director of JIATF 401, said at a media roundtable.
“Our integrated counter-UAS posture across the homeland has to be tied into the Golden Dome and we’re going to make sure that it is,” Ross told reporters.
Data sharing between JIATF 401 and the Golden Dome effort will focus on drones classified as belonging to Group 3, Ross explained. Drones categorised in that size are around the size of the Army’s RQ-7B Shadow and carry heavier payloads.
Ross said he is currently discussing data sharing with Space Force General Michael Guetlein, head of the Golden Dome project. “We have to be able to share data seamlessly so we should be able to see each other’s threat picture,” Ross said. “Just because you have the ability to see that data or share that data doesn’t mean you have to at each location.”
JIATF 401 was established in August by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to ensure that all US military branches are equipped with counter-UAS defence capabilities.
