Spanish Air Defense Regiment Receives First ARACNE Counter-Drone Systems

The Spanish Army’s 71st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment has received its first mobile ARACNE counter-drone systems, which can detect, track, and neutralize aerial targets.

The Spanish Army announced the delivery on its official Threads page. The unit has been designated the Army’s lead formation for counter-UAV training.

Military personnel have already conducted an operational assessment of the system’s ability to neutralize drones non-kinetically (soft kill), using electronic warfare systems to disrupt control and navigation links.

The next stage will assess the system’s ability to physically destroy aerial targets (hard kill). The tests are planned for the next ATLAS military exercises, but no exact date has been announced.

Militarnyi previously reported that Spain is procuring 14 ARACNE systems for a total of €30.24 million. Seven will be stationary systems, while the other seven will be mobile systems designed to protect military convoys and critical infrastructure.

The mobile ARACNE configuration consists of two VAMTAC ST5 vehicles. The first is equipped with detection and electronic warfare systems, including the NEMUS radar, a SmartEar radio-frequency scanner and a Brontes/EVO jamming system. The second vehicle is designed to physically destroy drones and is equipped with a Guardian 2.0 remotely controlled weapon station armed with a 40 mm Mk 19 automatic grenade launcher.

The NEMUS radar can detect small drones with a radar cross-section of 0.01 square meters out to 4 km and larger targets out to 12–15 km. The electronic warfare systems can jam satellite navigation signals up to 15 km away and drone control links up to 5 km away.