US not – Counter-drone companies and senior U.S. military leaders warn that the United States is still not ready to detect and defeat hostile drone attacks at scale. With drones growing cheaper and easier to arm, experts say the biggest problem isn’t only technology—it
For Kristian Brost, the alarm is personal, and the math is grim. He worries that a teenager with online access could build and arm a drone—and that the United States still isn’t ready to reliably detect and defend against what could follow.
“I’m very concerned,” said Brost, the general manager of the U.S. division of Robin Radar. The company makes drone-detection radars used by Ukraine and U.S. allies and has contracts with the U.S. Brost told MISRYOUM that when he first entered the counter-drone space in 2024, he assumed the U.S. had already solved the problem.
“What I’m finding in the US, that is not the case,” he said. He added, “I’d say frankly, we’re probably behind Europe,” when it comes to implementing counter-drone technology.
In his view, the gap shows up most sharply in who gets protection. “Only the very top elite kind of law enforcement organizations protecting very critical infrastructure have any kind of drone detection technology,” Brost said.
That framing echoes warnings from senior commanders. “Don’t listen to me. ” Brost said. urging attention to “our top military commanders who have openly said this.” Earlier this year. Brig. Gen. Matt Ross. commander for the Department of Defense’s Joint Interagency Task Force 401. described drones as the “defining threat of our time” and emphasized the difficulty of defeating them. Ross said there was “no silver bullet.”.
A year earlier, Rear Adm. Paul Spedero Jr. vice director for operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. said that if an adversary chose to use drones for surveillance or even attack. “we would not be prepared to adequately defend our homeland and only marginally capable to defend our military installations.”.
Brost’s concern isn’t abstract. He said drones worry him because they are relatively easy to operate. don’t require much sophistication. and can threaten a wide range of targets—from “high school football games to nuclear facilities.” He also pointed directly to the ease with which technology can be adapted: “My 16-year-old daughter could research how to make her own drone and to arm it somehow. ” he said. citing how much information is available online. “I hope to God there’s not some sort of horrific event,” Brost said.
His warning lands with extra weight because commanders have acknowledged slow, uneven progress. In March, Gen. Gregory Guillot, head of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said the situation had improved for bases and other military installations. “We have more detection capability now than we did in the past. and then our ability to defeat them has improved. ” Guillot said in March.
He added a concrete benchmark: “Whereas a year ago, almost every one that was detected was not defeated. Now about a quarter of the ones that we detect we’re able to defeat.”
Even so, Guillot said there were still “extensive gaps in the defenses.” The U.S. is trying to respond to that reality through policy moves as well. The Department of Defense issued updated guidance for countering uncrewed aircraft systems in the homeland last December after determining the previous guidance was “inadequate to address the current. complex” drone threat environment. In January. the Department of Homeland Security created a new office dedicated to countering drone technologies “increasingly exploited by malicious actors.”.
The threat is also constantly evolving, and that evolution is part of why readiness remains difficult.
Ukraine’s experience has made the stakes tangible for the West. The country’s fight has forced Kyiv to build layered defenses. combining sensors. mobile fire teams. electronic warfare. interceptors. and traditional air defenses. Many Ukrainian officials and soldiers have warned that Western countries are not ready. The commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said last year. “from what I see and hear. not a single NATO army is ready to resist the cascade of drones.”.
And the financial problem is real on the civilian side: drone technology is inexpensive and readily available. lowering the barrier to surveillance and precision strike. Homeland defense. however. can be more expensive and complicated. especially when it must account for potential impacts to civilian activity—including communications and air traffic control.
Robin Radar’s work sits at the center of that urgency. The Dutch company has had its systems deployed in Ukraine since 2023. Its products are now increasingly used by U.S. allies in the Middle East, with updates made from lessons learned on Ukrainian battlefields. Robin Radar also works with the U.S. partnering with the Department of Homeland Security to provide counter-drone protection for the World Cup.
Brost’s warnings arrive as President Donald Trump takes steps to strengthen counter-drone security around major events.
Other counter-drone firms describe a similar buildup of concern. DroneShield, an Australian counter-drone company with U.S. operations and gear in Ukraine, has issued similar warnings. Matt McCrann, CEO of its U.S. arm, told MISRYOUM that awareness of gaps in U.S. drone defenses is “snowballing.”
In the U.S. McCrann said. “there’s a lot of area to cover.” He described drones as threats to airports. critical infrastructure. energy installations. data centers. and sporting events as much as they are to military sites. “We definitely have to expand our thinking as far as the potential threats and how we guard against them. ” McCrann said.
Across Europe, officials have also warned that readiness is lagging. EU defense commissioner Andrius Kubilius said last year that “we are not ready to detect Russian drones and to destroy them with cost-effective means.” Drone incursions in recent months have disrupted major airports and seen NATO scramble fighter jets.
Air defense has been identified as a priority for NATO as allies pledge a huge increase in defense spending. But the process still faces issues tied to the defense industry’s capacity challenges and backlogs.
The picture that emerges from all of these warnings is tightly connected: drones are spreading faster than defenses can be scaled. And even when some detection capability improves. commanders and industry leaders keep pointing to the same pressure point—covering enough ground. reliably enough. before an attack forces a “wake-up call.” Brost put it plainly at the end of his remarks: the U.S. is at risk of receiving an unwanted wake-up call. and it “wouldn’t even need to be a sophisticated state actor.”.
That is what he said truly concerns him.
counter-drone drone detection homeland defense Robin Radar DroneShield Joint Interagency Task Force 401 Department of Defense guidance Department of Homeland Security office Ukraine drones NATO air defense World Cup security
So we’re just letting drones do whatever now??
I saw this headline and it’s like… how is Europe ahead of us at drone stuff. Doesn’t make sense. Also why is it always a radar company saying we’re behind, like okay but what are they actually doing.
Wait, isn’t the whole point of airports and “security” already. Like if a teenager can build a drone with online access, that means every hobby store is basically a weapon shop. Unless they mean like bigger military drones or something? Idk it says detect and defeat at scale but scale of what like 10 drones or 10,000.
This is why people can’t have nice things. Between cheaper drones and our “gaps” sounding wild, I’m surprised nobody’s talking about shooting them down over cities like right away. If Europe is ahead, we must be wasting money on other stuff. And radar companies always have the best pitch, but I get the fear part… a teen with a computer is scary. Just wish they’d say exactly what’s missing instead of vague “behind” comments.