Falcon Shield

Falcon Shield is Leonardo Electronics' field-proven Counter-Uncrewed Aerial System (C-UAS), purpose-built to address the growing threat from low, slow and small unmanned air systems operating in both civil and military airspace. The platform integrates four complementary sensor and effector technologies — radar, Electronic Surveillance Measures (ESM), Electro-Optical (EO) cameras and Radio Frequency (RF) electronic attack — under a single Command, Control and Situational Awareness (C2SA) software environment, giving operators a consolidated recognised air picture with minimal workload.

The system is deployed for the protection of military bases and forward operating positions, critical national infrastructure such as power stations and ports, civil airports and air traffic zones, and high-profile public or government events. The modular open architecture allows the configuration to be sized from a man-portable rapid-deployment kit — suitable for convoy protection or temporary event security — through to a fully distributed fixed installation with mast-mounted sensors covering a wide-area perimeter. A Mobile Surveillance Vehicle (MSV) variant integrates C2SA into a vehicle with trailer-based mast systems for extended sensor reach in the field.

For procurement engineers evaluating C-UAS platforms, Falcon Shield's key differentiator is the layered sensor fusion: radar provides active detection out to 5 km; the Metis Skyperion ESM passively detects drone and ground-control-station RF emissions across 30 MHz to 8 GHz without emitting a detectable signature; the NERIO-ULR gyro-stabilised EO payload with high-resolution thermal and visible cameras provides positive identification and evidential recording at 4 km; and the Guardian-EA directional jammer delivers narrow-beam electronic defeat — covering 400 MHz to 6 GHz — with low collateral effect. The C2SA system runs AI-assisted machine-learning classification, automated track association and a geospatial interface for accurate geolocation of both drone and ground-control-station positions. Interoperability is built in via open-standards IP, ASTERIX, SAPIENT and Data Link 16 interfaces, enabling federation with existing air-defence or air-traffic management infrastructure — relevant for GCC airports and military facilities operating mixed sensor networks.