A senior US military official has warned that the US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) lack the sensors and interceptors needed to counter swarms of low-cost drones launched from within domestic borders.
US Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Jarrard, deputy commander of NORTHCOM and vice commander of the US element of NORAD, highlighted the vulnerability during a speech at the recent Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Alabama.
“We don’t have the sensors,” Jarrard said. “We are ill-equipped right now to handle something like that, and obviously we’re seeing the use [of drones] on a daily basis around the world, and we’ve got to figure out how to mitigate that threat, but we’re not there yet.”
Need for Interoperability
Detecting an incoming drone swarm and determining where it is headed depends on having sufficient sensing capabilities, which Jarrard identified as one of the commands’ primary challenges.
To address the gap, NORTHCOM and NORAD are adapting tactics, techniques, and procedures from their long-running aerospace defense mission called “Operation Noble Eagle.”
NORTHCOM is also working to improve interoperability by linking military radars with systems operated by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
Part of that move is NORTHCOM’s recent fielding of mobile Fly-Away Kits, which provide rapidly deployable detection and mitigation capabilities at military bases and major events. The kits were used during the 250th anniversary of the US homeland last July and the FIFA World Cup 2026.
“We’ve got to be interoperable with the systems that they’re procuring, using, utilizing, and they’ve all got to talk together,” Jarrard noted.
