UAV Swarms Protect Ground Targets Without GPS or Communication

A team of researchers has developed a decentralized pipeline for using UAV swarms to protect ground targets from hostile drone attacks in environments where GPS and communication are unavailable. Published at IROS 2026, the work addresses a critical gap: most existing counter-UAV systems depend on global positioning and drone-to-drone communication, which can be jammed or unavailable in contested areas. The proposed solution instead relies on onboard sensors—each UAV uses only relative measurements to track both the target and its swarm mates. Kalman filters estimate unknown states of hostile UAVs and the relative positions of friendly drones, enabling coordinated maneuvering without any external data links.

The swarm's core strategy is decentralized encirclement: drones adaptively position themselves around the target to maximize coverage, actively intercepting or blocking incoming threats. The approach was extensively validated with real robots, demonstrating effective detection, encirclement, and interception of simulated hostile UAVs. By eliminating the need for GPS or communication, this system offers a robust countermeasure for military operations in denied environments. The work marks a practical step toward autonomous swarms that can operate in the most challenging conditions.