Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, Joint Interagency Task Force 401 director, visited the FBI’s National Training Center for counter-small unmanned aircraft systems in Huntsville, Alabama, yesterday to solidify a strategic alliance to protect the nation from unmanned aerial threats.

The visit centered on increasing collaboration between the War Department and the FBI to enhance homeland defense through joint training and the accelerated development of counter-UAS capabilities with federal interagency partners. 

A primary focus of the discussion was enhancing efforts to coordinate security preparations for this summer’s FIFA World Cup. Ross and Mike Torphy, FBI acting assistant section chief for UAS and counter-UAS, spoke with expert instructors who are teaching a specialized course for local law enforcement in each of the tournament’s eleven host cities across the nation. 

“The security of our homeland depends on a seamless, unified defense, and that is only possible through robust interagency collaboration,” Ross said. “The threats we face are shared, so our solutions must be as well. Our work with the FBI, to secure major events like the World Cup against the threat of drones, is a prime example of this strategy in action, but our goal is much broader: to build permanent, integrated [counter]-UAS capabilities across the federal government.” 

This synergy is foundational to building a more resilient national counter-UAS capability and ensuring state and local partners are effectively trained and equipped for any threat.  

Ross thanked Torphy for hosting the productive visit, which underscored the importance of combining JIATF 401’s lessons learned from the battlefield and expertise in joint training with the FBI’s critical law enforcement mission. 

“This is one example of how JIATF 401 is working with partners to enhance our counter-drone efforts,” Ross said. “No single person or agency can take on this task alone. It requires a whole-of-government coordination, and I am grateful that Mr. Torphy and the training center staff are supporting our mission to build a layered defense against the full spectrum of small UAS threats to the homeland.” 

The engagement in Huntsville signifies a deliberate move to formalize and expand the working relationship between the department and federal law enforcement. Future efforts will include the JIATF 401’s Joint Counter-Small UAS University in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, working closely with the FBI’s National Training Center to execute this shared mission.  

This partnership model, focused on joint capability development and shared training, will enhance security for specific events and serve as a blueprint for a more integrated national approach to all counter-UAS threats, Ross added. 

By Army LYC Adam Scher, Joint Interagency Task Force 401

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — When Soldiers took to the field for Project Flytrap 4.5, they were not only testing emerging counter-unmanned aerial system technology but also tackling a challenge facing multinational operations: how to move sensor data quickly, reliably and securely across networks.

Project Flytrap is a recurring C-UAS experimentation series in Europe focused on assessing passive and active sensors, and defeat capabilities against group 1-3 UAS in a coalition environment. Conducted by V Corps alongside U.S. and partner nation forces, the exercise series is designed to identify capability gaps, test new technologies and refine tactics under realistic operational conditions.

As part of the exercise, Army teams worked alongside V Corps to evaluate how the integrated sensor architecture, or ISA, could help address data sharing and interoperability gaps revealed during earlier iterations of the exercise.

Developed by Capability Program Executive – Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, ISA is a framework that connects sensors and networks across domains, services and coalition partners using standardized, open-architecture data formats. As demand for rapid, interoperable sensor data grows across Europe, ISA has emerged as a scalable, plug and play backbone for operations.

“The goal is a plug and play environment where partner nations can bring in their sensors and contribute to a common operating picture,” said Russell Nadler, a technical program integrator with CPE-IEW&S’ Integration Directorate. “ISA can be the enabler that helps pass sensor data seamlessly between allied and U.S. systems.”

Conducted over multiple iterations in recent months across locations in Germany and Poland, Project Flytrap supports the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line warfighting concept by bringing U.S. and partner-nation soldiers together to evaluate new technologies under realistic conditions. Previous iterations exposed limitations in existing networks, particularly when integrating multiple sensors and processing large volumes of data in real time.

“For us, Flytrap really highlighted the importance of having an architecture that could scale and adapt as systems were added,” said Maj. Oniel Rhooms, Project Flytrap network integration lead for V Corps. “By the time we got to 4.5, ISA had matured to a point where it could actually enable that integration instead of becoming another barrier.”

Built for Interoperability

By leveraging open data standards, ISA enables information from radar, optical, infrared and acoustic sensors — regardless of origin — to flow into a shared environment without custom re-coding or system-specific interfaces. This approach provides a more flexible and resilient way to integrate sensors across units and coalition partners.

“ISA wasn’t just part of the network, it was also part of how we validated vendors,” Rhooms said. “It helped us determine early on whether systems could actually connect and deliver what they claimed, which saved time and reduced risk once we went live.”

That flexibility extended beyond technology. Rhooms emphasized the importance of the ISA team’s on-site support, noting their ability to adapt quickly as conditions changed.

“The people mattered just as much as the technology,” he said. “They were able to pivot, solve problems on the spot, and make connections happen that otherwise wouldn’t have.”

Looking ahead

As adversary drone tactics continue to evolve, exercises like Flytrap remain essential for testing technologies under real-world stress. With Flytrap 4.5 demonstrating the value of a more integrated approach, V Corps and CPE-IEW&S will continue refining how ISA supports interoperable C-UAS and sensing operations across the European theater.

By Kay Edwards