U.S. Army Tests Next-Gen Counter-Drone Systems During Baltic Coast Exercise

In November 2025, the U.S. Army convened a multi-week counter-drone trial at the coastal training grounds of Truppenübungsplatz Putlos in northern Germany. The event, branded as Project FlyTrap 4.5, saw air defense units from the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade and the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command (10th AAMDC) putting next-generation counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) through realistic field conditions along the Baltic coast. The trials ran roughly from November 10 to November 21, 2025.

Background: Rising Drone Threats and NATO Posture

As hostile drones proliferate across modern conflict zones — from small reconnaissance UAVs to armed loitering munitions — militaries worldwide are scrambling to adapt. In response, NATO and the U.S. Army have prioritized development and deployment of layered counter-UAS architectures. Project FlyTrap 4.5 marks a major milestone in that effort — shifting from conceptual testing to integrated, networked defense drills that mirror real-world operational demands along NATO’s Eastern Flank.

Planning for the exercise began nearly a year earlier, under the direction of Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa and NATO Allied Land Command, who tasked the 52nd ADA Brigade to identify viable tools capable of countering emerging airborne threats in contested electromagnetic environments.

What Happened at Putlos: Trials, Testing, and Integration

At Truppenübungsplatz Putlos — a coastal range overlooking the Baltic Sea — the Army deployed a variety of prototype and experimental C-UAS systems under realistic threat scenarios. The exercise brought together tactical air defense operators, acquisition officials, and industry engineers for a holistic assessment of detection, discrimination, and defeat capabilities.

Detection & Discrimination

Vendors employed both active and passive sensors to detect and discriminate drone threats. Active radar provided better tracking accuracy, but at the cost of a stronger electromagnetic signature — making systems more detectable by adversaries. Passive sensors offered stealthier detection, though with reduced precision. This trade-off remains a central challenge for mobile air defense units operating in contested electronic warfare environments.

Defeat Mechanisms: Kinetic and Non-kinetic

The defeat phase of the trials featured a mix of traditional kinetic interceptors alongside modern non-kinetic options. Notably, the Army tested directed-energy and electronic disruption platforms capable of neutralizing rotary-wing UAS swarms without using explosives — a capability especially attractive for minimizing collateral damage in populated or maritime zones. According to a senior acquisition official, at least one low-collateral system demonstrated in Putlos is now under expedited evaluation by NATO.

Additionally, the trials were synchronized with a parallel competition, xTechCounterStrike, which invited vendors to submit breakthrough C-UAS concepts for direct testing. From over 200 initial companies, 15 finalists were chosen; 11 attended the live trials, and 4 emerged as winners — each awarded US$350,000 and a fast-track path into the U.S. Army’s procurement marketplace via the Global Tactical Edge Acquisition Directorate (G-TEAD).

Maj. Joshua McMillion, the G-TEAD capability lead and judging panel member, explained the motivation behind the exercise: “We were tasked specifically to accelerate the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line … one of the easiest ways to accelerate that capability is to partner with existing companies and existing organizations.”

Significance: Live-Network Integration and Alliance Readiness

What distinguishes Project FlyTrap 4.5 from previous demonstration events is the integration of experimental C-UAS systems directly into an operational command-and-control network. Every participating system needed to interface seamlessly with the brigade’s forward air defense C2 structure — the core of NATO’s Eastern Flank Deterrence Line.

Brig. Gen. Curtis King of the 10th AAMDC described FlyTrap 4.5 not as a demonstration, but “a vital rehearsal for future Baltic operations”. The event offered tactical-level commanders — including individual soldiers — a voice in shaping which technologies will become standard equipment for counter-drone defense across NATO.

Several industry insiders who participated in the trials noted the unprecedented closeness between procurement officers, operational commanders, and engineers as systems were tested side-by-side: “no PowerPoint, just performance,” one vendor observed. Early discussions are reportedly underway to combine complementary systems into mixed vendor packages, potentially enhancing overall effectiveness beyond what any single system can achieve.

Strategic Context: Lessons from Ukraine and Eastern Europe

The urgency behind the exercise reflects hard-earned lessons from recent conflicts — notably the widespread use of small drones, loitering munitions, and “saturation” drone attacks observed during the war in Ukraine. These low-cost, commercially available UAVs have inflicted rising casualties and disrupted logistics and command operations, exposing vulnerabilities in traditional air defense setups.

For NATO’s forward-deployed forces along the alliance’s eastern frontiers, mastering the counter-UAS fight is no longer optional — it is an operational imperative. By accelerating acquisition cycles, testing at the tactical edge, and embedding vendor solutions into real-world C2 networks, the U.S. Army is signaling a transition from reactive adaptation to proactive readiness. Project FlyTrap 4.5 represents more than a testbed; it is a preview of how future multi-domain air defense may be structured.

What’s Next: Toward Full-Spectrum Air Defense by 2026

Project FlyTrap 4.5 is a transitional milestone. The next full-spectrum test — expected in spring 2026 — will likely expand both the variety of threats (e.g., drone swarms, fixed-wing UAVs, loitering munitions) and the number of systems under evaluation. Meanwhile, systems selected via xTechCounterStrike could enter expedited procurement and deployment cycles, potentially equipping frontline NATO units before the end of 2026.

In a strategic environment where drone threats evolve quickly and unpredictably, such efforts will be crucial to maintaining air dominance, perimeter security, and force protection across Europe’s eastern flank.