Air Force leaders pivot to ‘final denial’ as the future of drone defense

The Air Force’s 31st Air Task Force wrapped up a week of counter-drone training Aug. 3–7 with a live-fire event intended to demonstrate a final layer of defense against small unmanned aircraft systems. The effort advanced a layered approach that links detection and identification with electronic attack and physical intercept, according to unit officials.

The training expanded on a February field exercise and brought together Airmen assigned to the 31st ATF from Hurlburt Field, Florida, and Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Participants worked with artificial intelligence-enabled sensors to spot, track and sort aerial objects—from aircraft and drones to birds—and pushed data in real time across multiple command-and-control echelons from an expeditionary base defense operations center.

“Through a crawl, walk, run approach, Airmen gained practical knowledge of a full spectrum of layered counter-sUAS capabilities,” said the 31st ATF’s force protection superintendent. “The ATF is posturing to provide tiered defense through detection, electronic warfare defeat, and physical interception of hostile drones.”

Leaders from Air Force Special Operations Command and the 1st Special Operations Wing joined subject-matter experts in drone warfare, precision munitions, and unmanned threat detection and mitigation to review developments and exchange lessons. “It’s inspiring to see a unit at this level proactively tackling a problem-set that is top of mind for leaders across the Air Force and the Department of War,” said Col. Clayton Schuety, 1st SOW deputy commander. “The blend of entrepreneurial foresight, AI surveillance, and human-directed targeting will no doubt create positive impacts for the warfighter. We look forward to seeing how this effort continues to mature and receiving the lessons learned which will benefit Air Commandos and the larger force.”

Airmen also trained with existing Air Force gear alongside industry technologies, focusing on weapons and tactics for defeating hostile drones and bolstering resilience against electromagnetic warfare. Scenarios included organic reconnaissance and the denial of fast-moving small drones flying aggressive profiles.

“The team successfully executed a capstone event that validated new tactics, techniques, and procedures across force protection and distributed communications,” said Col. Brad Dvorak, 31st ATF commander. “Our mission is to enable airpower operations, anytime, anywhere. By establishing a sUAS instructor cadre, we trained our personnel on counter-sUAS architecture and employed unique solutions for Airmen to track, jam, and kinetically defeat sUAS threats.”

The 31st ATF, led by a colonel, fields a command-and-control element and a combat air base squadron and can scale to roughly 2,500 Airmen spanning more than 60 career fields. The organization is designed to deliver base support to deployed aviation units—referred to as mission generation force elements—and the logistics required for Agile Combat Employment.

The push comes as the Pentagon devotes more attention and resources to countering small, inexpensive drones that have featured prominently in recent conflicts. Officials said the ATF plans to continue refining tactics and sharing findings with Air Commandos and the broader force.