BAE sees forward-deployed naval drones doing air defense for warships

LONDON — Future air defense for naval vessels and combat armor may include a defensive escort of uncrewed vehicles equipped with electronic warfare measures or drone-killing cannons, according to the technology director at BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defense company.

The logic follows lessons learned from recent naval engagements that dance around the sweet spot of hitting targets from a safe distance, with sufficient reliability, while spending as little on interceptions as possible.

Relatively inexpensive drone countermeasures already fielded, such as electronic warfare or cannon fire, tend to be shorter range or have lower success rates, Robert Merryweather, group technology director at BAE, noted at a briefing on layered drone and missile defense at the DSEI UK show here.

The solu