According to foreign media reports, on the evening of February 26th, the German Navy's HMS Hesse frigate, which was operating in the Red Sea, fired two anti-aircraft missiles at a US MQ-9 Reaper drone. The next day, the ship launched anti-aircraft missiles again and shot down two unmanned aerial vehicles armed with Hussai. The two anti drone combat operations of the USS Hesse frigate have attracted attention and discussion from the outside world regarding carrier based anti drone equipment. In the increasingly complex sea battlefield, what are the coping strategies that surface vessels have when facing attacks from drones and unmanned vessels? Traditional shipborne weapons are irreplaceable, and unmanned equipment is changing the traditional style of naval warfare. However, recent anti unmanned combat practices have shown that conventional shipborne weapons such as naval guns and air defense missiles still play an irreplaceable role in anti unmanned combat. Firstly, traditional shipborne radar, optoelectronic, and acoustic detection equipment can detect, identify, track, and warn incoming drones and unmanned vessels, possessing comprehensive, multi-level, and efficient anti unmanned combat capabilities. For example, in late October 2023, the US Navy's Ali Burke class missile destroyer used anti-aircraft missiles and near fire guns in the Red Sea to effectively intercept 19 unmanned aerial vehicles and 4 anti-ship missiles of the Houser armed forces. Secondly, traditional shipborne weapons respond quickly and have significant combat effects in anti unmanned operations. For example, after the radar on the USS Hesse detected the drone, the 76mm naval guns and anti-aircraft missiles on board quickly activated and launched shells, effectively intercepting the incoming drone at different distances. At the same time, the cost of anti unmanned combat is constantly decreasing. For example, the intelligent anti-aircraft guidance and engagement system being demonstrated by the US Navy can command 64 low-cost intelligent missiles at once to intercept and strike drone or unmanned boat swarms. In recent years, laser, microwave and other directed energy weapon systems have become increasingly popular among the navies of countries such as the United States, Britain, and France due to their fast response speed, high strike accuracy, low cost, and good anti cluster effects. As early as 2014, the US Navy had completed carrier based interception tests of a 32 kW laser weapon system. In May 2020, the US Navy completed sea tests of 150 kilowatt laser weapons on the amphibious assault ship Portland. In the same year, the US Navy tested the Odin optical dazzling interceptor system on the Dewey destroyer, using optical blinding methods to intercept drone swarms. In addition, the American company Thor has also launched microwave weapon systems that can simultaneously interfere with and intercept dozens of drones. Except for the United States, countries such as Russia, Britain, and France are all vigorously developing shipborne directed energy weapon systems. The French Navy has completed the testing of shipborne laser weapon systems. The laser weapon system has a compact structure and can be operated by individual soldiers, with performance comparable to the MK-15 "dense array" short-range defense weapon system. Although directed energy weapon systems have obvious combat advantages, they have problems such as large size, poor compatibility, and low energy. In the future, they can only be used as a supplementary means for traditional shipborne weapons to combat unmanned aerial vehicles. The rapid development of diversified equipment in recent years, with the rapid development of anti unmanned equipment technology and killing concepts, carrier based anti
Edit：Luo yu Responsible editor：Wang xiao jing
Source：China national defense daily
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