U.S. Army Tests Next Generation Counter Drone Systems in Germany During Baltic Coast Exercise.

U.S. Army air defense units and technology teams gathered at Truppenuebungsplatz Putlos in northern Germany to evaluate emerging counter-drone systems under field conditions. The multiweek event matters because it helps the Army refine its approach to defending NATO forces against rapidly evolving unmanned aerial threats.

U.S. Army officials spent two weeks in November 2025 at Truppenuebungsplatz Putlos, a coastal training area on Germany's Baltic Sea, running an intensive series of counter-drone trials led by the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade and the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. According to Army participants at the event, the gathering brought together air defenders, acquisition experts, and industry engineers to test new C-UAS prototypes in realistic scenarios, giving commanders a clearer picture of how next-generation sensors and interceptors perform under pressure.
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U.S. Army Spc. Logan Weathers, a crew member with the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, engages a hostile drone using a counter-unmanned aircraft system during Project FlyTrap 4.5 on November 19, 2025, at the German military training area Truppenübungsplatz Putlos. (Picture source: U.S. Army)

The German military training area Truppenübungsplatz Putlos became the epicenter of the U.S. Army’s evolving counter-unmanned aerial systems strategy as air defenders from the 52nd ADA Brigade and 10th AAMDC conducted a nearly two-week trial of emerging c-UAS technologies. The coastal range, located in the Ostholstein district and directly overlooking the Baltic Sea, provided ideal open terrain and maritime airspace for live drone flight profiles and sensor testing in realistic conditions. Project FlyTrap 4.5, a classified field evaluation, brought together tactical air defense operators, acquisition officials, and hand-picked commercial innovators in a high-stakes demonstration of next-generation drone defense capability within a NATO operational context.

FlyTrap 4.5 stood out by integrating experimental counter-drone systems directly into an operational command-and-control network. All participating systems needed to connect seamlessly with the brigade’s forward air defense command and control structure, which underpins NATO’s Eastern Flank Deterrence Line. This real-world integration milestone, achieved with direct support from U.S. Army Europe’s V Corps and 2nd Cavalry Regiment maneuver units, demonstrated immediate tactical applicability for layered defense operations.

Behind the scenes, senior U.S. Army officials confirmed that planning for this event began nearly a year in advance under direction from Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa and NATO Allied Land Command. Donahue tasked the 52nd ADA Brigade with identifying counter-drone technologies capable of responding to the exponential rise in airborne threats seen in peer and near-peer conflicts, particularly in contested electromagnetic environments. This initiative also aligned with NATO’s current posture shift toward a fully integrated, multinational air defense grid stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

A rigorously structured assessment matrix was central to FlyTrap 4.5. Systems were tested for capabilities across detection, discrimination, and defeat. Detection and tracking systems, both passive and active, underwent evaluation in cluttered electromagnetic environments: active sensors offered accuracy but a visible electromagnetic profile, while passive approaches were stealthier but less precise, a key issue for mobile air defense.

The defeat component of FlyTrap 4.5 encompassed both kinetic and emerging non-kinetic counter-drone technologies, with notable tests of directed-energy and electronic-disruption technologies. Among these, a low-collateral platform capable of disabling rotary-wing UAS swarms without kinetic means emerged as especially promising. According to a senior Army acquisition official, such capabilities, if scalable, could be transformational, and multiple sources confirmed that at least one system is now under expedited NATO evaluation.

Adding another layer of strategic significance to the event was the inclusion of xTechCounterStrike, a two-phase competition run by the Army’s Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. This parallel initiative, operated in tandem with FlyTrap 4.5, invited vendors to submit breakthrough c-UAS concepts for direct assessment at Putlos. Winners gained not only monetary awards but entry into the Global Tactical Edge Acquisition Directorate (G-TEAD) Marketplace, the Army’s new fast-track mechanism for onboarding emerging tech into operational formations. Army officials confirmed that at least two xTechCounterStrike participants have been selected for ongoing testing under the PEO Missiles and Space rapid acquisition path.

Project FlyTrap 4.5’s branding reflects its transitional role between past maneuver exercises and the upcoming full-spectrum test planned for spring 2026. Brig. Gen. Curtis King of the 10th AAMDC advanced FlyTrap to meet current theater-level needs by emphasizing live-network integration and collaboration. He stated post-event that this was not merely a demonstration, but a vital rehearsal for future Baltic operations.

Industry insiders who attended the event noted that the level of Army-supplier interaction was unprecedented, with procurement officers, operational commanders, and engineers walking the range side by side as each system was trialed against live drone swarms. One executive from a U.S.-based radar developer described the environment as brutally honest and refreshingly tactical, with no PowerPoint, just performance. Another confirmed that early talks are underway for government-facilitated teaming between vendors whose solutions performed better in tandem than individually.

This surge of innovation and testing reflects a broader strategic imperative emerging from the hard lessons of the war in Ukraine. Russia’s extensive use of small UAS, loitering munitions, and long-range drone strikes has fundamentally altered the battlefield calculus, especially in the context of low-cost saturation attacks. Ukrainian forces have suffered devastating consequences from cheap, commercially available drones equipped with explosives, while also pioneering creative countermeasures that the U.S. Army is now urgently studying. The conflict has exposed a glaring vulnerability in traditional air defense setups and underscored the need for distributed, rapid-response counter-drone capabilities at the tactical edge.

Mastering the counter-UAS fight is now a critical challenge for the U.S. military’s forward-deployed forces on NATO’s Eastern Flank. Project FlyTrap 4.5 demonstrates U.S. recognition that drone warfare has arrived, is highly lethal, and is advancing more rapidly than existing acquisition processes. This initiative positions American air defenders to proactively address evolving drone threats, rather than simply react, directly responding to the operational demands in Eastern Europe.

As NATO recalibrates its defense posture around the credible threat of drone saturation attacks, increasingly evident from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, Project FlyTrap 4.5 has become more than an Army testbed. It is a proving ground for future alliance-level interoperability and a signal to adversaries that U.S. air defenders are investing not just in capability but in tempo. The message is clear: the counter-UAS fight is no longer experimental; it is operational.

Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.