US Army awards $237 million contract for counter-drone system

News, US April 23, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

United States Army awarded Raytheon Technologies a $237 million contract on April 19, 2023, for detecting and defeating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones.

According to the Raytheon Technologies statement, the U.S. Army selected the company for its Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensors (KuRFS) and Coyote effectors to counter unmanned aircraft.

“The contract includes a combination of fixed-site and mobile systems as well as a quantity of effectors, designated to support the Army’s U.S Central Command operations,” the statement added.

The Ku-band Radio Frequency System is a 360-degree radar that senses incoming drones, rockets, artillery, and mortars. The system can carry defensive weapons, and it can be set up within 30 minutes on a vehicle or in a fixed location. The Coyoteunmanned aircraft system is small, expendable, and tube-launched. It can be deployed from the ground, air, or a ship.

As part of the U.S. Army’s Low, slow, small-unmanned aircraft Integrated Defeat System, called LIDS, KuRFS provides advanced 360-degree threat detection, while Coyote low-cost effectors defeat drones, the Raytheon release read.

President of Land Warfare & Air Defense at Raytheon Missiles & Defense, Tom Laliberty said, “The KuRFS radar and Coyote effectors effectively detect and defeat unmanned aircraft systems, an increasingly evident and global threat.” He further added that “LIDS is operationally deployed, providing a proven, reliable, and essential layer of defense against enemy drones.”

*^{U.S. Army’s Ku-band Radio Frequency System. (Image Credit: Raytheon Missiles & Defense)}*

Under the Low, slow, small-unmanned aircraft Integrated Defeat System, the U.S. Army integrates Raytheon’s KuRFS and Coyote with Northrop Grumman’s Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control system (FAADC2), and Syracuse Research Corporation’s electronic warfare system. These systems create a multi-mission fixed, relocatable, or mobile deployed system that provides a complete extended-range defense solution.

LIDS can be deployed as mobile, fixed, and relocatable platforms. The system can provide both stationary support for an installation, asset, or site, and a transportable configuration for deployment flexibility.

Earlier in October 2022, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey said, “It takes a system of systems approach… to counter the growing threat from unmanned systems“. Gainey added that “There’s not just one system that’s going to solve this problem – from small quadcopters all the way up to almost cruise missile-type attack systems that you see out there.” Therefore, to defeat this range of Group 1-3 UAS, Gainey highlighted that “it takes a layered approach”.