Graeme Forsyth, Battlespace Product Manager at ECS
As unmanned threats continue to evolve across air, land and maritime domains, counter-UxS capabilities are becoming central to modern force protection and critical infrastructure defence. At the World Defense Show, radio-frequency specialist Enterprise Control Systems (ECS) is showcasing its BLACKTALON counter-UxS system, designed to address complex and rapidly changing threat environments. In this interview, Graeme Forsyth, Battlespace Product Manager at ECS, discusses the company’s long-standing experience in counter-UxS operations, the importance of open and adaptable architectures, and how ECS is responding to emerging challenges such as latency, spectrum congestion and evolving unmanned platforms across global theatres, including the Middle East.
ECS operates at the forefront of counter-UAS innovation, delivering countermeasures to customers worldwide, including in the Middle East. How has the company’s core mission evolved alongside changes in modern warfare and security operations?
Today, counter-UAS is no longer just about hardware or software, it is about delivering a complete capability. That includes operational advice, system support and long-term engagement with customers. ECS has been active in counter-UAS since 2016–17, placing us at the early stages of this technological evolution. Our long-standing experience, exposure to real operational environments and understanding of evolving threats mean we are well positioned to guide new customers through increasingly complex counter-UAS challenges.
Could you outline ECS’s core competencies and how they deliver operational advantage across land, air and maritime domains?
Our counter-UAS and communications intelligence systems are designed for multi-domain operations, covering air, land, littoral and maritime environments. The system architecture allows us to integrate a wide range of sensors, radar and passive sensors for aerial threats, detection systems for ground threats, and sonar integration for underwater threats. This makes the solution suitable for critical infrastructure such as ports or nuclear power facilities that rely on seawater systems.
What distinguishes ECS’s counter-UAS solution in crowded and degraded electromagnetic environments?
Experience is our key differentiator. We have accumulated extensive operational data over many years, which directly informs system design. Our approach is ecosystem-based, we recognise that no single company can be best-in-class across all technologies. As a result, our systems use open architectures and support dozens of configurations, tailored for static or mobile missions, active or passive sensing, and customer-specific operational requirements.
How is ECS responding to the rise of unmanned and optionally piloted platforms that place new demands on data throughput, latency and security?
Threats evolve rapidly, and so must countermeasures. For example, fibre-optic-controlled drones reduce the effectiveness of traditional RF jamming. To address this, we integrate alternative effectors such as interceptor drones and cyber takeover capabilities. Latency challenges are mitigated through sensor networking, by fusing inputs from multiple sensors into a single, trusted operational picture, reliance on any one sensor is reduced.
What strategic importance does the Middle East hold for ECS, and what are your priorities during this event?
Saudi Arabia and the wider region are strategically important markets. ECS systems were previously deployed alongside the U.S. Air Force during the Battle of Mosul, giving us strong operational pedigree. At this event, our priority is to build awareness, engage with local industry and customers, and demonstrate how our systems have evolved based on real-world operational feedback.
Do you have a local partner in the Kingdom?
Yes, we are exhibiting on the DEMCO stand. Our relationship with DEMCO is highly complementary and enables more informed discussions around local sourcing, integration requirements and technology transfer aligned with the Kingdom’s objectives.
What are ECS’s key priorities and growth plans over the next five years?
Electronic warfare, communications intelligence and counter-UAS requirements continue to grow rapidly. Our priority is to remain aligned with technological change, which now occurs in cycles as short as three to six months. ECS takes a practical, operational approach, we are not a “PowerPoint organisation.” We focus on demonstrations, in-country deployments and organic growth built on proven success. Today, ECS has systems deployed in over 40 countries, with full counter-UAS configurations operating in several regions. The market is active, but adoption often follows crisis events. Our view is that customers must start learning early, through real deployments, to truly understand and counter evolving unmanned threats.
