Phantom Defense, a Ukrainian defense-tech company building an integrated counter-UAS ecosystem, participated in Gauntlet II, a phase of the U.S. Drone Dominance program held at Fort Carson in Colorado. The company was one of three involved in creating an adversarial environment for testing unmanned systems.
This approach makes it possible to assess drone capabilities not only under standard operating conditions, but also in an environment that more closely reflects the modern battlefield, where unmanned systems may face detection, electronic warfare, and other counter-UAS capabilities.
For Gauntlet II, Phantom Defense deployed a counter-UAS system combining video interception, a Command-and-Control (C2 system) system for detection, classification, engagement, and confirmation of suppression results, as well as electronic warfare capabilities. and electronic warfare capabilities.
The company demonstrated Specter PRO, a dome and directional EW system designed to protect forward operating positions, brigade headquarters, and critical infrastructure. The trials also included Specter L, X, and XL, a family of compact EW jammers optimized for operation in challenging and extreme conditions. These jammers are used by mobile сrews to protect personnel and equipment near the front line.
Phantom Defense also demonstrated Streamhunter, a video interception system that successfully intercepted video signals from UAVs during the trials.
All deployed solutions were integrated with a C2 system that provided situational awareness, transmitted data on detected targets, and coordinated the operation of counter-UAS capabilities, including the EW jammers and video interception Streamhunter.
“Participating in Gauntlet II allowed Phantom Defense not only to showcase Ukrainian technology, but also to demonstrate the practical value of our experience in electronic warfare. U.S.-Ukraine defense cooperation should be mutually beneficial: Ukraine can already share technologies, field-ready products, and real-time battlefield experience with its partners. This helps identify which solutions work, under what conditions they lose effectiveness, and how quickly an adversary adapts to new technologies,” said a Phantom Defense representative.
During the trials, Phantom Defense’s EW systems successfully disrupted UAVs and maintained their effectiveness under varying weather conditions, including heat and nighttime.
In addition to deploying counter-UAS capabilities, Phantom Defense recreated the environment that drone operators encounter on the modern battlefield. This made it possible to assess UAV performance under active countermeasures and examine how their effectiveness changes when subjected to electronic warfare and other counter-UAS capabilities.
The team’s successful performance and its solutions for countering UAVs caught the attention of the U.S. side: following the results of Gauntlet II, Phantom Defense received an invitation to participate in a series of upcoming events and tests as part of the Drone Dominance program.
