The US Air Force is working on its drone defenses, starting with AI and ending with shotguns

Airmen used AI systems to better detect potential drone threats and discern them from other aerial objects.

US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt.

Ty Pilgrim US Air Force airmen have been testing out layered defenses against drones.

AI helped detect and distinguish drones from birds and aircraft.

Electronic warfare and shotguns added more layers of protection.

US Air Force personnel recently trained on a layered approach to countering drones, using artificial intelligence to spot them, electronic warfare to disrupt them, and shotguns as a last line of defense.

The recent exercise highlights the US military's growing focus on having a variety of kinetic and non-kinetic systems to defend against uncrewed aerial systems .

It's a work in progress as the different services figure out which capabilities best fit their missions and what lessons can be shared across the force.

Earlier this month, the Air Force's 31st Air Task Force tested drone defense tactics against small uncrewed aerial systems, connecting different technologies to form a layered defense.

"Through a crawl, walk, run approach, airmen gained practical knowledge of a full spectrum of layered counter-sUAS capabilities ," the 31st Air Task Force's force protection superintendent said in a news release.

"The ATF is posturing to provide tiered defense through detection, electronic warfare defeat, and physical interception of hostile drones." During the defensive training, airmen learned how to use AI systems to scan the skies.

Those systems helped identify drones while filtering out non-threats like birds and planes.

Personnel also trained on other weapons for defending against drones and electronic warfare threats .

As part of the exercise, small high-speed drones mimicked hostile flight patterns, giving airmen the chance to gain experience detecting and tracking realistic targets.