In the very real and very up-to-date military clash between armed drones and anti-drone technology, the U.S. Air Force has enlisted a mystical, hammer-wielding Norse god for the fight.
The mythical Thor used his mighty war hammer “Mjolnir” to summon lightning and vanquish cinematic villains but the Air Force says it can also defend troops against the ever-increasing threat from so-called drone swarm attacks.
Pronounced “Me-yol-neer,” it’s the latest version of a cutting-edge weapon system called THOR — “Tactical High-Power Operational Responder” — that marks the latest phase in the fast-evolving era of drone warfare. Where once the Pentagon had a near-monopoly on unmanned vehicles (UAVs) deployed for military purposes, armies and even non-state terror groups around the world have access to inexpensive, deadly drones that can be deployed on the battlefield.
The weapon of choice isn’t a souped-up hammer high-powered microwaves that can scramble a drone’s internal circuitry, neutralizing entire flocks of UAVs by disorienting them. The approach sidesteps the need to knock every single hostile drone out of the sky.
U.S. military planners have had to play both offense and defense with drones, many of which can frustrate traditional missile defenses and evasive maneuvers. THOR was designed to save the day for U.S. troops who may soon find themselves under attack by large numbers of enemy unmanned aerial vehicles.
U.S. Air Force officials expressed satisfaction with an early test of THOR’s capabilities at an undisclosed location in Africa at the end of 2020. The anti-drone system was set up to simulate providing protection for a land base that could be vulnerable to both drone and cruise missile attacks.
“Because THOR was so successful, we wanted to keep the new system’s name in the THOR family,” said Amber Anderson, a project manager at the Air Force Research Laboratory.
The idea behind swarm attacks is to overwhelm defenses by hitting targets with more attackers than they can deal with. Iran and its proxies are increasingly using drones — many very small in size — to strike U.S. and allied targets at sea and on land.
Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, has said attacks from drones are the threats that concern him the most. While U.S. air defense systems can take out larger targets, such as ballistic or cruise missiles, he said the smaller drones are the problem.
“The smaller drone is the future of warfare and we need to get ahead of that right now,” Gen. McKenzie told Pentagon reporters in April.
Analysts say the July 29 drone attack on the Israeli-operated cargo ship MT Mercer Street that killed the captain and a crew member demonstrated the threat and the need to find a solution. The U.S., Israel and leading European nations said the evidence strongly pointed to Iran in the attack, although Tehran denied any role.
“There is no justification for this attack, which follows a pattern of attacks and other belligerent behavior,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken later said in a statement. “These actions threaten freedom of navigation through this crucial waterway, international shipping and commerce and the lives of those on the vessels involved.”
THOR and its offspring MJOLNIR aren’t sleek like hypersonic missiles. The complete system is basically a 20-foot-long cargo crate with a satellite dish mounted on top. But it can take out a swarm of drones using its directed energy weapon to disable their critical electronics. Both THOR and MJOLNIR were specifically engineered to counter multiple targets “with rapid results,” Air Force officials said.
“The system output is powerful radio wave bursts, which offer a greater engagement range than bullets or nets,” Ms. Anderson said. “Its effects are silent and instantaneous.”
Air Force officials say they have learned a lot about anti-drone technology and how it can be improved in the future.
“The MJOLNIR prototype will use the same technology [as THOR] but will add important advances in capability, reliability and manufacturing readiness,” Ms. Anderson said.
The Air Force Lab’s Directed Energy Department is looking for partners to help develop the counter-drone weapon system. The goal is to eventually have MJOLNIR produced in large quantities, both to maintain the U.S. electromagnetic spectrum superiority and support a fledgling industry, officials said.
“As the danger from drone swarms evolves, all services are working closely to ensure emerging technologies like MJOLNIR will be ready to support the needs of warfighters already engaged against these threats,” said Adrian Lucero, the deputy program manager for THOR.
Air Force officials expect delivery of the prototype weapon in 2023.