US Navy’s Black Dart Exercise Hones Methods for Shooting Down Drones

Two US Navy guided-missile destroyers took part this week in drills in the Gulf of Mexico that tested their sensing and communication systems’ ability to track and shoot down unmanned drones, a press release on Friday said.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Tuesday’s exercise, Black Dart 2016, involved the destroyers Jason Dunham and Lassen, whose systems were tested for interoperability with other platforms at sea and on land.

"We want to communicate and coordinate to expand our battlespace and reduce reaction time we have from detection to engagement of these unmanned aerial systems," the Jason Dunham’s combat systems officer Lt. Cmdr. Carl Poe stated in the Navy release.

"The goal here is to test our organic sensors radar systems, camera systems and interface with the shore-side operators who are testing systems for the same purpose," Poe added.

Black Dart, initiated in 2002, is a response to the global spread of heavy and lightweight drones and the range of threats they pose to US military and civilian interests in the hands of adversaries, terrorist and criminal groups as well as "lone wolf" individuals.