AeroVironment deploys inner Golden Dome counter-drone layer at Grand Forks US Air Force Base.

AeroVironment and GrandSKY have begun deploying the inner layer of the Golden Dome for America concept at Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, integrating Titan and Titan-SV passive RF sensors with AV_Halo COMMAND for a unified operating picture that also supports BVLOS ops. The move aims to harden a high-traffic UAS hub and seed a repeatable limited-area defense model for other critical sites.

AeroVironment said on October 14 that it is standing up a distributed counter-UAS sensor architecture at Grand Forks AFB, in partnership with GrandSKY, to serve as the inner, limited-area layer of the Golden Dome for America framework. The package centers on Titan and Titan-SV, which passively analyze drone control links to provide long-range detection and bearings, fused in AV_Halo COMMAND to present a single track picture to base and GrandSKY operators, including for BVLOS flight awareness across the 217-acre campus. Company leaders and Senator John Hoeven framed the Grand Forks effort as both immediate protection and a proving ground for a national layered defense construct.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, the site of the deployment of AeroVironment’s Golden Dome for America architecture in partnership with GrandSKY (Picture source: US DoD)

The deployment centers on a distributed C-UAS sensor architecture. Titan and Titan-SV provide long-range detection and identification by analyzing radio emissions, without disturbing the base’s electromagnetic environment. AV_Halo COMMAND unifies feeds from heterogeneous sensors and presents a single operating picture for Grand Forks AFB and GrandSKY teams. In practice, operators see RF bearings, correlated tracks, and area alerts in real time, while maintaining BVLOS capacity for tests and routine flights across the 217-acre site.

Titan-SV’s passive RF approach captures common control links used by Class 1 and 2 drones, including modified commercial setups, and infers direction of arrival to enable cross-fixing. The architecture remains modular, with sensor nodes deployable on the perimeter, on fixed masts, or in mobile configurations that can be meshed to eliminate blind spots. AV_Halo COMMAND is hardware-agnostic and ingests third-party sensors, allowing later integration of low-power radars, EO/IR systems, or non-kinetic effectors as rules of engagement permit.

GrandSKY is the country’s first commercial UAS aviation park and serves as a national test bed for BVLOS operations. The AV–GrandSKY cooperation dates to a March 2025 memorandum of understanding, already implemented through integration of AV_Halo COMMAND Mission, formerly VigilantHalo, into the site’s flight operations. Senator John Hoeven backs Project ULTRA, a public-private initiative funded at 110 million to make Grand Forks a reference hub for C-UAS. This continuity provides an ecosystem for trials, doctrine, and operational assessment useful to the US Air Force and industry.

The configuration yields immediate effects. Early warning comes from passive detection that identifies remote pilots, links, and sometimes signatures of certain drone families, which speeds classification. Coverage is 360 degrees. Distributing Titan nodes around the base improves triangulation and reduces dead zones while providing precise tracks to cue other sensors. Command continuity is maintained. By unifying the picture between the base and the adjacent park, AV_Halo COMMAND lowers cognitive load, standardizes alert procedures, and reduces the risk that authorized flights and C-UAS responses interfere. The logic is simple. Detect first, decide quickly, then engage if necessary with interdiction means adapted to local rules.

According to Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment’s Chairman, President, and CEO, the Grand Forks deployment delivers situational awareness to the base and outlines a path to extend limited-area defense at other critical sites. At GrandSKY, Tom Swoyer notes the shift from a partnership focused on sense-and-avoid to a multi-layered C-UAS capability in close coordination with the base. Politically, Senator Hoeven emphasizes the need to equip domestic defense after lessons from Israel and Ukraine, where low-cost drone swarms stress traditional defenses and target logistics nodes.

The announcement sits within the Golden Dome for America framework. The federal initiative seeks defense in depth, from low-altitude drone layers to higher terrestrial and space layers. AV’s alignment with SNC indicates a division of roles and a push for rapid integration. Starting at a base with high UAS activity is pragmatic. Operators can test sensor meshing, data fusion, C2 interoperability, and, crucially, the coexistence of authorized flights with protection measures. Findings will inform program-level choices for national architecture.

The spread of drones, combined with tensions with China and Russia, is pushing states to harden installations. A layered architecture tested in situ raises the penetration threshold and discourages opportunistic actions. Debates over costs and sustainability remain, but the Grand Forks approach has an immediate practical effect. It protects a critical site while generating operational data to calibrate future homeland defense. If funding and inter-agency interoperability are sustained, local C-UAS “bubbles” can aggregate into a national mesh that complicates adversary planning and preserves decision time in a crisis.