Missouri S&T’s expertise in electrical and computer engineering will play a role in a new $7.2 million grant and a $7.7 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Naval Research to reduce national security threats from drones. The project is led by the University of Missouri-Kansas City and includes researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are commercially available to the public and present an increasing threat to national security that ranges from intelligence gathering to delivery of a weaponized payload. They could also unintentionally create havoc by becoming caught in the air intake of a jet engine.

The threat from drones, whether intentional or unintentional, is disproportionate in cost and complexity compared to the damage they can cause. The four-year grant award will focus on advancing high-power microwave electronic countermeasure technologies.

The research team includes S&T electromagnetic compatibility experts Daryl Beetner, professor and chair of electrical and computer engineering, and Victor Kilkevich, a research associate professor affiliated with Missouri S&T’s Electromagnetic Compatibility Laboratory.