US Army Expands Drone Intel Sharing With Allies

The US Army has signed a new agreement with the United Kingdom that lays the groundwork for sharing intelligence related to drones and counter drone operations, a move Army Secretary Dan Driscoll says is only the beginning of broader cooperation with allied nations, as Army Defense reports.

Speaking during a town hall at Fort Drum in New York, Driscoll explained that he and Brig. Gen. Matthew Ross, director of the Army’s Joint Interagency Task Force 401, traveled to the UK last month to formalize the partnership.

The goal was to establish clear rules on how information about drone threats and defenses can be exchanged quickly and reliably.

Driscoll highlighted that drones present a very different challenge compared to traditional weapons. Unlike missiles, drones can appear suddenly, move unpredictably, and cross airspace boundaries in seconds, which makes rapid information sharing between allies critical during both training and real world operations.

According to Driscoll, the Army now plans to expand similar agreements to additional countries, allowing partner forces to train together more effectively and, ideally, field compatible systems and software when operating side by side.

Shared tools and training shape future conflicts

A major theme of Driscoll’s remarks was interoperability. He stressed that many US allies already use similar software and systems, and that aligning UAVs and counter UAVs capabilities will make combined forces stronger if they ever need to fight together.

Recent multinational exercises show this approach already taking shape. In November, the Army and vendors from the US and allied nations hosted a counter drone competition known as Flytrap 4.5, which focused on defeating small to medium sized drones operating in NATO airspace.

Elsewhere in Europe, American soldiers from the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command trained alongside Polish and Romanian forces, learning to operate the Merops counter drone platform.

That system has seen operational use in Ukraine for nearly two years, giving allied troops exposure to tools shaped by real combat experience.

The US is also expanding cooperation beyond Europe. Last year, India and the US launched the Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance, aimed at scaling production and partnerships across the Indo Pacific.

As part of that effort, companies like Anduril and India’s Mahindra Group are working together on autonomous and AI enabled counter drone technologies.

Task Force 401 selects DroneHunter for Replicator 2

Alongside the announcement of the UK agreement, Task Force 401 revealed its first purchase under the second phase of the Pentagon’s Replicator acquisition program, as we on DroneXL wrote about it.

The task force is procuring two DroneHunter F700 systems from Fortem Technologies, with delivery expected by April. The DroneHunter F700 is a six rotor interceptor drone designed to capture hostile drones mid air using a net based system rather than explosives or jamming.

Fortem says the platform has a high success rate, with most targets unable to escape once the DroneHunter is within range. A second net can be deployed quickly if the first attempt fails, making it well suited for defending sensitive locations and forces against small unmanned threats.

Brig. Gen. Ross described the purchase as a key first step in Replicator 2, emphasizing that the task force’s sole focus is delivering effective counter UAS capabilities to warfighters at home and abroad.

DroneXL’s Take

What stands out here is not just the technology, but the mindset shift. The US Army is clearly treating drones as a shared problem that demands shared solutions, shared data, and shared systems.

Intelligence sharing agreements like this one with the UK are less about paperwork and more about speed, because in a drone fight, seconds matter. As counter drone threats continue to evolve, the nations that can see the same picture and react together will hold a decisive edge

Photo credit: NATO, Fortemtech, US ARMY.