This panel event took place at AUSA Annual 2026.
Drone swarms have already reshaped the battlefield in Ukraine, and the same threat is now creeping toward U.S. soil, with senior military leaders warning that homeland defenses still lack the sensors and interceptors to stop a coordinated attack. The lessons are piling up fast: cheap, autonomous drones can overwhelm defenses built to engage threats one at a time, and layered detection, AI-enabled decision-making, and scalable effectors are becoming the price of entry, whether the fight is overseas or at home. In this panel event, Defense News examined what the Army has learned from recent conflicts about countering drone swarms, and how those lessons are shaping the effort to protect U.S. installations, borders, and critical infrastructure.
Watch Recording:
{insert}
Guest Speakers:
- Brig Gen. Matthew S. Ross, Director, Joint Interagency Task Force 401, U.S. Army
- Col. Timothy A. Price, Commanding Officer, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, U.S. Army
- Melanie Marlowe, Senior Associate, CSIS, Missile Defense Project
- Charlene Caputo, Vice President, Business Development, DRS Rada Technologies, Leonardo DRS
- Michael “Woody” Woodhouse, Vice President, Space, Air and Missile Defense, Leonardo DRS
