ENACT Flash Report 23 - Counter-UAS capabilities in the EU: technologies, projects and operational challenges
Year: 2026
Type: report
Abstract: The growth of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) is reshaping European security, blurring defence and internal security lines. While drones benefit law enforcement, civil protection, emergency response, border surveillance, and infrastructure monitoring, misuse by criminals and terrorists creates operational risks for European Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). Counter-UAS (C-UAS) capabilities have become a strategic priority at the EU and Member State levels, with recent policies emphasising the importance of integrating security and defence efforts, industry, research, and operational learning. This ENACT report assesses Europe’s current C-UAS capabilities, exploring the complex threat landscape, including autonomous, RF-silent, and GNSS-denied drones, and the operational, technological, and cooperation models supporting capability development. Effective C-UAS relies on integrating detection, tracking, identification, situational awareness, decision-making, mitigation, and forensic measures within a legal and procedural framework supported by trained personnel and interoperable tools. Challenges include detection in complex environments, system interoperability, lawful mitigation, cross-border coordination, and emerging threats like autonomous and RF-silent drones, including fibre-optic FPV drones. For LEAs and European security, C-UAS is crucial for countering crime and terrorism in technologically advanced contexts. Future efforts should focus on operational concepts, security-defence collaboration, layered architectures, testing, legal clarity, and translating research into deployable capabilities. We’re collecting feedback on this report, please leave your thoughts and comments anonymously through the following survey: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/enact-report-feedback
Institution: Polícia Judiciária
Language: English
Subfield: Aerospace Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: European Commission
OpenAlex ID: W7166312912