The US and ally Saudi Arabia have conducted the latest 'Red Sands' military exercises at the Red Sands Integrated Experimentation Center in Saudi Arabia. The latest round of joint exercises focused on countering unmanned drones - or C-UAS (counter-unmanned aerial systems) - and saw the participation of AH-64 Apache helicopters, robot dogs and a resupply quadcopter, among other systems. Apache helicopter showcases anti-drone capability In a video published by US Central Command (CENTCOM), two AH-64D Longbow Apache helicopters obliterate a drone using "upgraded" AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, which are usually utilized as an air-to-ground weapon to destroy vehicles.
When equipped with its Longbow radar system, the Apache's ability to detect threats from the air will prove a distinct advantage against drones , which often stay undetected by ground systems due to their small size. Red Sands 24-2 also involved a US Army 'Weaponized Quadrupedal-Unmanned Ground Vehicles' (Q-UGV) - or in layman's terms, a weaponized robot dog. This has not been used outside the US before, and its exact role in the exercise is unclear.
Another system used was the Rheinmetall Mission Master XT Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicle (A-UGV), fitted with dual M134D miniguns. The latest Red Sands was the third iteration of joint C-UAS operations between the two countries following similar exercises held last year. Anti-drone exercises held in September 2023 were said to be the largest ever conducted by US forces,.