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PASSIVE-SHIELD

Counter-UAS sensing prototype evidence from edge sensing to operator cues.

PASSIVE-SHIELD demonstrates a working defense-oriented counter-UAS sensing prototype path for passive DJI/OcuSync-family RF evidence, edge processing, acoustic corroboration, distributed event sharing, swarm replay benchmarks, and CoT/WebTAK-ready output.

Working prototype chain

Built to connect sensors, edge compute, corroboration, and C2-facing output.

The evidence brief shows PASSIVE-SHIELD moving from proposal concept into a runnable prototype chain: edge stations publishing into a shared collector, passive DJI/OcuSync-family RF activity evidence, acoustic sidecar corroboration, duplicate suppression, track lifecycle state, and confirmed-track output compatible with CoT/WebTAK workflows. Trace Analyzer can place those PASSIVE-SHIELD cues beside BLE, GPS, WiFi, RF Sentinel, and SDR-Shark events in one source-aware timeline.

Demonstrated Elements

  • Edge nodes publishing station status, detections, and events
  • Mini 4K / OcuSync RF activity and transport-train evidence
  • RF plus acoustic corroboration with no false positives observed in the limited replay clips reviewed
  • Deterministic multi-drone replay scenarios with ground truth for staged-activation testing
  • Initial measured multi-emitter separation using level-shift evidence, with documented blind spots
  • Multi-station GeoFusion experiments using signal-power residuals to test whether observations are consistent with one point source
  • Conservative swarm-hypothesis outputs that avoid asserting coordination when evidence remains ambiguous
  • Station-to-station event sharing, duplicate suppression, and track lifecycle
  • Timeline review beside BLE, GPS, WiFi, and other RF evidence streams

Pilot Package

Move from prototype evidence to a controlled sensing and fusion pilot.

The pilot package turns PASSIVE-SHIELD evidence into a scoped evaluation: site assumptions, sensor-placement modeling, replay scenarios, event schemas, dashboard and C2 output, measured limitations, and an acceptance-style report.

Next Step

  • Define mission assumptions and legal/customer authority boundaries
  • Plan collection geometry and public-safe replay validation
  • Produce operator-facing cues and measured claim boundaries

Counter-swarm roadmap

Replay benchmarks now quantify staged behavior, spatial spread, and ambiguity.

PASSIVE-SHIELD now includes deterministic multi-drone replay scenarios that keep ground truth separate from the event stream used by the prototype. The analysis combines staged-activation detection with multi-station GeoFusion residuals, asking whether the evidence looks spatially consistent with one point source or with a spread-out source pattern.

The measured result is useful because it names both progress and limits: sequential launch behavior can be identified in controlled replay, and spatially spread observations can be distinguished from a single-source baseline in simulation, while coordination and aircraft count remain bounded claims.

Measured Findings

  • Six deterministic scenarios cover single-drone, independent, formation, mass-arrival, sequential-wave, and mixed cases
  • Level-shift validation matched staged-source joins in nine of twelve track-band series
  • GeoFusion residuals separated the single-drone baseline from spatially spread multi-source scenarios in simulation
  • The fusion layer correctly keeps several cases in "insufficient evidence to determine coordination"
  • Not claimed: reliable aircraft count, internal formation resolution, solved simultaneous-emitter separation, or fielded operational swarm detection

Pattern of Life

Designed to compare current cues against recent baseline behavior.

The prototype event model is useful for pattern-of-life review: station health, cue recurrence, dwell time, corroborating acoustic activity, and repeated RF activity can be reviewed together instead of as isolated alerts. The public framing should remain prototype evidence for baseline and anomaly review, not a claim of operational attribution or universal detection.

Review Signals

  • Recurring cue timing, dwell, and confidence trend
  • Station participation and duplicate suppression behavior
  • RF cue correlation with acoustic sidecar events
  • Track lifecycle state for analyst review and reporting

Claim boundary

Strong evidence, careful claims.

The correct public framing is that PASSIVE-SHIELD has a working prototype evidence chain ready for disciplined validation, calibration, and maturation. It should not be described as an operationally fielded C-UAS system, and the swarm work should be framed as replay-backed measurement toward swarm hypotheses rather than solved drone counting.

Not Claimed

  • No jamming, spoofing, kinetic defeat, or live neutralization
  • No payload, GPS, serial, home-point, or pilot-location decode claim
  • No precision geolocation, TDOA, or operational multi-site C2 claim
  • No reliable physical drone-count claim from a single combined RF signal
  • No universal detection claim across all drone families or protocols