MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. – An 11-person team from U.S. Northern Command deployed here Oct. 21-27, 2025, to provide counter-small unmanned aerial system support to the 5th Bomb Wing and installation commander, successfully engaging more than 100 targets of interest across several days and attaining certification as an operational team.
“I’m proud of the USNORTHCOM fly-away team and what they’ve been able to do in a short amount of time. The validation and certification of our Counter-small UAS fly-away kit is an important step in being able to support installation commanders within the United States as they defend against drone incursions,” said Gen. Gregory Guillot, North American Aerospace Defense Command and USNORTHCOM commander. “Moving beyond an advisory role, we now have a team with equipment that is able to rapidly deploy and provide active and passive detection capabilities and low-collateral non-kinetic and low-kinetic defeat options in one package.”
Although this deployment was an exercise and certification evaluation, it was the first time the newly-formed team deployed with USNORTHCOM’s C-sUAS fly-away kit designed specifically to detect, track, identify and mitigate drone incursions at military installations within the United States, said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joey Frey, the command’s C-sUAS response program manager and an Army air defender by trade. The goal, he said, was to evaluate the entire movement to the North Dakota base from the call to action to ensuring the equipment was loaded on a military aircraft and transported, completing successful counter-drone engagements, and redeployment back to Colorado Springs, where USNORTHCOM is located.
“This team of 11 far exceeded expectations of operators whose first time seeing the system was 30 days ago,” he said. “Their ability to adapt to an unfamiliar mission set and learn the tactics of air defenders was a breath of fresh air.”
The team, comprised of a variety of specialties within USNORTHCOM and 21st Space Base Delta at Peterson Space Force Base, first put hands on the C-sUAS system during the command’s C-sUAS experiment Falcon Peak 25.2 at Eglin AFB, Florida, in September when USNORTHCOM took delivery from Anduril, the platform’s manufacturer. The team learned how to set up the system, mitigate drone threats and tear down the system during their time in the Sunshine State.
The fly-away kit is an amalgamation of sensors and effectors that creates a total detect, track, identify and mitigation system including:
- The Heimdal mobile sensor trailer that includes a continuous 360-degree pan and tilt unit, thermal optics and a radar, all working together autonomously for target acquisition.
- Anvil drone interceptors and launch box, which operate autonomously to detect, track, shadow and mitigate threats.
- An electromagnetic warfare effector called Pulsar that features radio frequency detect, track, classify and deny options.
- The Wisp, a wide-area infrared system that is AI-enabled and offers 360-degree, full-motion sensoring that provides an accurate sight picture for operators.
But North Dakota, for the most part, was far from the sunny skies of the Florida panhandle. The USNORTHCOM C-sUAS team had to contend with cold, windy and soggy conditions during the exercise. The weather; however, didn’t prevent the team from accomplishing its mission of providing support to the 5th BW and dispatching threats to critical infrastructure and assets.
Tech. Sgt. Ian Kay, a member and shift lead of the fly-away kit team and the 21st Logistic Readiness Squadron Air Transportation Operations non-commissioned officer in charge, said their training efforts came to fruition in this wide-open stretch of the Great Plains.
The Nampa, Idaho-native said he has spent the majority of his career loading aircraft on flightlines, and he had no background knowledge of UAS, or the impressive technologies comprising the fly-away kit to combat those threats.
“I learned that no matter your rank, service or career field, teamwork and mutual commitment are what make the mission successful,” he said. “The (fly-away kit) team came together to accomplish a common goal with little to no friction. I also learned that today’s warfare continues to evolve, and staying ahead of the enemy requires constant innovation and adaptability.”
Leading the C-sUAS charge on the ground was Maj. Austin Fairbairn, an Air Force missileer working in USNORTHCOM’s Theater Security Cooperation office. He said the learning curve has been steep as the majority of the team does not have a C-sUAS background. The team has learned and gained new skills in operating the system’s command-and-control software interface called Lattice, powering up and calibrating systems and creating best practices for C-sUAS tactics.
He said giving operational support to the 5th BW during their exercise “provided a solid foundation of skills” for the team when it comes to “real-world drone engagements.”
“We brought together a group of people from different career fields, military services, and an assortment of personalities and turned them into a high-functioning team of C-sUAS professionals,” Fairbairn said. “I’m both grateful and humbled to have led such a skilled team of dedicated military professionals.”
USNORTHCOM’s efforts at Minot AFB went beyond the drone mitigations mission. The other piece was working through the complexities of federal statutes and interagency partners to ensure the installation commander was operating under appropriate authorities to protect the base from drone incursions.
U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Brian Dudley, USNORTHCOM’s Joint Counter-UAS Planner, said 10 U.S.C. 130i is the federal statute that gives installation commanders the authorities to defend against drone incursions. However, the Department of War – delegated down to installations – has to coordinate defensive efforts with the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration. In turn, the DoW is provided the authorities to detect, track, identify, and monitor UAS.
“It also provides installation commanders with the authority and certain coverage from civil legal recourse when the installation commander acts to defend, disrupt, defeat, and potentially confiscate unauthorized UAS that violate DoW installation airspace,” Dudley said.
For the Minot deployment, Dudley said the installation completed a 130i defense plan in 2019 and updated it a few years ago. USNORTHCOM’s role in the exercise was to help the Minot team complete another set of 130i revisions that would allow a wider counter-UAS defense plan that includes the fly-away kit, if needed.
“The rapid development, or revision of, a 130i counter-UAS defense plan is critical to the protection of installations experiencing UAS incursions,” he said. “Irrespective of the 130i authorities, installation commanders retain the inherent authorities to self-defense under the standing rules of the use of force.”
Frey, who said the moniker of air defenders is “if it flies, it dies,” said he wanted to create a “robust and challenging” opportunity for the fly-away kit team, one that enabled operators to “protect the asset while mitigating collateral damage.” The team, he said, was successful in doing that.
“When you have personnel passionate about the mission set, the mission is easy,” he said. “The desire to protect and defend comes naturally and the eagerness to learn echoed the urgency of our mission. As long as you have people who understand why they are doing what is being asked, you’ll have results that match.”