Army Tests Drone Interceptor Against Cheap Attack Drones
Soldiers in Poland flew the FD-1 interceptor into enemy-style drone targets during a November test.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Military
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U.S. Army soldiers tested the FD-1 interceptor drone at the Ustka Training Area on Poland's Baltic coast from November 2 to 6. The test was led by the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, and the Army has not released its results.
Why it matters
Attack drones costing a few thousand dollars can force defenders to fire interceptors costing millions, creating a steep cost imbalance. The battalion wants affordable options against mass drone attacks so advanced munitions can be saved for threats that need them.
The evidence is a field exercise conducted November 2-6, with cost comparisons drawn from the price of a Shahed attack drone at about $4,000 against the multimillion-dollar Patriot missile. The number of interceptors ordered and the contract value remain undisclosed, and the Army has not published test results.
The players
Mountain Horse Solutions
The company that makes the FD-1 interceptor drone and is a subsidiary of Global Ordnance.
Global Ordnance
The parent company of Mountain Horse Solutions, which manufactures the FD-1 interceptor.
The details
The FD-1 is a first-person-view drone flown through a live camera feed, and the operator steers it straight into an enemy drone to destroy it. It was launched from an SGT Stout, a Stryker armored vehicle, and is made by Mountain Horse Solutions, a subsidiary of Global Ordnance.
Timeline
May: Then-Army Secretary Dan Driscoll pointed to the cost imbalance between attack drones and interceptors.
Later in May: Brent Ingraham made the same point at a Pentagon briefing.
October 12: Mountain Horse Solutions announced the Army had ordered more FD-1 interceptors.
November 2-6: The FD-1 test ran at the Ustka Training Area in Poland.
November 9: The Army published a report on the Poland test.
Big Picture
The FD-1 test responds to the gap between a Shahed attack drone at about $4,000 and a Patriot missile costing millions of dollars, a gap Army leaders raised publicly in May. It follows that pattern by testing a cheaper interceptor meant to spare advanced missiles for higher-value threats.
For defense planners and allied forces, a cheaper interceptor could change how air defenses are budgeted against mass drone attacks. The test also means soldiers trained without prior drone experience may soon instruct other units across U.S. Army Europe and Africa.
The takeaway
Cheaper counter-drone tools may matter as much as advanced missiles when attackers can launch swarms of inexpensive drones. Watch whether the Army releases its test results and how many FD-1 units it eventually buys.
Further reading
Explore more on Military coverage to see how the U.S. Army is weighing low-cost counter-drone options against costly missile defenses.
Source note: This article includes information reported by El Cronista.
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