Counter-drone: Netherlands equip soldiers with eAAAD toolbox against small drones

The Netherlands wants to expand its counter-drone capability faster: in view of the acute and growing threat posed by drones, the Ministry of Defence intends to invest more quickly in countering unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This is necessary to ensure the safety of military personnel, State Secretary for Defence Gijs Tuinman wrote to the House of Representatives.

In the letter, Tuinman sets out the needs analysis for the project “Acquisition eAAAD Toolbox”. The aim is to build capabilities for enhanced All Arms Air Defence (eAAAD), which focuses on self-protection against smaller types of drone – that is, aircraft weighing up to 20 kilograms with a range of at least 1,000 metres.

If soldiers receive additional aids such as simple personal sensors, the drone threat can be detected and countered more quickly. In this way, eAAAD is intended to enable them to defend themselves independently, without specialised air defence units having to intervene.

Few resources against a growing threat

Recent developments in the Middle East and in Ukraine show that drones pose an acute and growing threat. This has also been noted in the Netherlands, which now wants to prepare better. So far, the defence sector has only very limited resources for this: units largely rely on personal weapons or available standard weapon systems, whose probability of hitting small, highly mobile drones is also limited.

In the letter to the House of Representatives, the State Secretary therefore stresses that more capacity is needed quickly – above all for those Dutch units deployed on NATO’s eastern flank. The Ministry of Defence intends to conclude the contracts for these systems in the first quarter of this year.

Three building blocks for the troops’ counter-drone capability

The planned eAAAD toolbox consists of three complementary systems. They are intended to enable military personnel to defend themselves independently:

• Electro-optical sights for personal weapons are intended to increase accuracy against small drones at a distance of at least 200 metres.
• Lightweight, portable jammers with a range of more than 1,000 metres disrupt the signals of hostile unmanned systems.
• The third system serves drone detection: portable radio-frequency (RF) sensors help to detect enemy unmanned systems at a distance of at least 1,000 metres.

Budget and timeline

Between 50 and 250 million euros are to be invested in the eAAAD toolbox. In addition, the Ministry of Defence is providing funds to replace the eAAAD equipment with the latest technology available after ten years. As already mentioned, the contract is to be concluded in the first quarter of 2025; according to current planning, the project is scheduled to end in 2028. The first systems are to be delivered shortly after the contract is signed and will then be immediately ready for use.