© www.thedailybeast.com"The Drone Wars"
By the end of 2016, the JIDO with a budget to deal with new IED threats that emerged during the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, will become a permanent establishment under the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The new agency is set to deal with the full range of improvised threats emerging around the world, yet its priority is to engage IED and drone threats posed by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and those that emerge in the course of operation Resolute Support, the US assist and advise mission to Afghanistan's security forces.
"This effort will fill critical capability gaps defined in the Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems Joint Urgent Operational Needs Statement (JUONS) to support counter-improvised explosive devices (C-IEDs) and improvised threat capability requirements in support of Counter-Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Resolute Support (C-ISIL/RS) missions," Defense News quotes the reprogramming document.
The program will focus on creating a means to detect and defeat small and tactical unmanned aerial systems posing a "direct threat to US and coalition forces," the document says.
Comment: There is always the slim possibility that the $20M will actually be used as promised. If so, there is always the slim possibility that the drone technology will remain a Pentagon secret. If so, there is always the slim possibility that this program will actually have any effect on deterring IS, be it an honest try. There is a higher possibility that it will become a covert assist.