Rohde & Schwarz will demonstrate its ARDRONIS counter UAS suite at the NATO Technical Interoperability Exercise (TIE) 2026 in the Netherlands, confirming that the system meets NATO STANAG requirements and fully complies with the SAPIENT standard protocol for joint counter UAS missions. The NATO TIE is expressly designed to test the interoperability of commercial and military technology for detecting and mitigating drone threats in a realistic, NATO-wide operational environment. The live performance challenge will showcase the ability to detect, track and jam hostile unmanned aerial systems that rely on commercial cellular networks, a threat class that few solutions currently address.
The demonstration will focus on two Rohde & Schwarz counter UAS products: ARDRONIS Locate Compact is a compact, rugged system that automatically determines bearing and triangulates video downlink signals from drones. It is suitable for rapid deployment in harsh environments, including critical infrastructure sites such as airports as well as military operations. R&S®Probe Observer uses existing communication infrastructure to locate cellular controlled UAVs with industry leading accuracy, providing 360° coverage, minimal false positive alerts and real time notifications for single facilities or nationwide protection.
Together these solutions constitute the first system capable of both detecting and mitigating RF-controlled and cellular network drones, proving reliable field performance and seamless integration with NATO C-UAS architectures.
Operating under authentic, expert evaluated conditions validates the reliability of the ARDRONIS family and deepens Rohde & Schwarz’s partnership with the NATO Communications and Information Agency, particularly its Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group.
“Participating in the NATO Technical Interoperability Exercise allows us to show that our ARDRONIS suite not only meets the stringent STANAG and SAPIENT standards but also delivers a practical, end to end capability to protect critical assets from the emerging threat of cellular network drones. The live performance validates the system’s reliability, scalability and seamless integration with NATO C-UAS architectures – attributes our customers depend on for operational security today and in the future,” says Tim Kittel, Senior Product Manager Network Analytics, Rohde & Schwarz.