Letter: Who will recognize what comes next?

To the editor, Grand Forks is being entrusted with assessing technologies intended to counter drones. The UND partnership with Joint Interagency Task Force 401, supported by the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, deserves a direct question: do we have the people capable of recognizing what should come next? I am concerned that we may underestimate the expertise this responsibility requires. Operating a test site and evaluating technologies for military use are different assignments. Success in one does not establish competence in the other. My concern extends beyond whether we can identify equipment that performs well in a demonstration. Can we recognize an unconventional approach whose military value is still developing? Can we distinguish a fundamental weakness from a problem that another technology could solve? Consider a possibility: a small company presents an inexpensive system that falls short under existing criteria but offers a radically different way to defeat