BAE Systems has completed a two-week series of live trials in Scotland of its Anti Threat System (BATS), an integrated counter-drone capability that links detection, operator decision-making and engagement through a single command-and-control architecture, the company reported.
Three Test Scenarios
The trials exercised BATS across three operational scenarios. The first assessed whether data from multiple sensors could be fused into a common operational picture, letting operators detect, identify and track airborne objects while distinguishing drones from non-threatening activity. The second scenario tested integration of electronic warfare and software-defined radio technology, with operators applying non-kinetic countermeasures to confirmed targets in near-real time. A third scenario ran a full detection-to-engagement sequence in a more complex tactical setting, including an integrated gun system, with operators confirming drone categories and selecting an appropriate effector for each threat.
Open, Scalable Architecture
BATS is built by BAE Systems’ Digital Intelligence business as a software-driven, open-architecture system intended to let customers plug in existing and future sensors and effectors rather than relying solely on expensive missile-based interceptors. The Scottish trials follow earlier integration and deployment testing completed in July 2026, which took the system from concept to field trial in about eight months. Human operators retained decision authority throughout the exercises, with BAE Systems stating the tests demonstrated the full “sense, decide, effect” mission chain against uncrewed aerial threats.
BAE Systems has not disclosed a customer, contract value or procurement timeline tied to the trials. More counter-UAS developments are tracked in the SectechMedia Technology News archive.