Thales has partnered with British innovator Autonomous Devices to build a drone-based electronic warfare solution aimed at naval and land applications. The collaborative system, named EW-UAS1, pairs Thales’ EW payload with Autonomous Devices’ long-endurance, agile UAV and will be supplied as a complete, ready-to-use capability.
The EW-UAS1 is designed to perform electronic support (detection, identification, and localization of emitters) and electronic attack (including jamming). According to the companies, the system is in early testing and will be developed further over the coming months to address rising operational needs for offensive and defensive EW tools.
Practical roles include shipboard self-defence — employing jamming to disrupt incoming anti-ship missile seekers and reduce the need for physical interceptors — and protecting high-value land and sea assets by degrading enemy radar and contributing to theatre electronic defenses. It can also operate in a passive surveillance mode to extend threat detection. The quick-repositioning drone detects hostile emissions and can jam or spoof radar signals, producing false returns that confuse adversary operators and steer missiles away from their intended targets.
