Even by the already busy ticker of news regarding the advancement of counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) technology, recent weeks have seen an intense flurry of reported events related to the rapidly growing defense industry segment. Here are just four of the recent counter-drone effort highlights.
The spate of news got off to a big start on March 5 when Epirus announced an oversubscribed $250 million Series D fundraising round to scale production of its Leonidas product line, the company’s high-power microwave (HPM) defense capability for short-range air defense.
Leonidus, Epirus states, is a solid-state, HPM system, utilizing Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductors for a range of counter-electronics applications, which have been proven effective in recent Department of Defense testing.
Another big leap for C-UAS, emerged with the March 13 announcement that Anduril had been awarded a $642 million, 10-year Program of Record by the U.S. Marine Corps to deliver, install, and sustain Installation-Counter small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (I-CsUAS).
Another big leap for C-UAS, emerged with the March 13 announcement that Anduril had been awarded a $642 million, 10-year Program of Record by the U.S. Marine Corps to deliver, install, and sustain Installation-Counter small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (I-CsUAS).
According to the company, their system would enable 24/7 autonomous operations powered by an advanced software platform, called Lattice. Using AI to autonomously detect, track, identify, and neutralize aerial threats through Lattice, the system also integrates multiple sensors and effectors, along with a shared command and control interface.
Four days after the Anduril announcement, March 17, brought news that the Swedish Air Force, Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), and Saab successfully evaluated a new C-UAS capability, known as Loke.
The system, Saab revealed, includes radars such as Giraffe 1x for detection and classification, and lightweight command and control based on the SHORAD concept, as well as effectors such as the Trackfire remote weapon station. The company says Loke can be further enhanced with additional sensors and weapon stations.
Finally, one day later, on March 18, ELTA North America announced it had been selected to provide a Vehicle Protection Multi-Mission/Multi-Sensor Suite (M3S2) for evaluation by the U.S. Department of Defense.
M3S2, Elta states, provides simultaneous 360-degree, tactical vehicle protection, C-UAS, and advanced ground surveillance capabilities, integrating radar and electro-optical sensing into a single, low Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) package.
At this pace, the coming weeks and months will likely feature even more notable announcements for the burgeoning C-UAS segment.
Andrew Dardine is lead analyst for Forecast International's Defense Electronic Systems group. He is the primary author of Forecast International's Electronic Warfare Forecast and co-author of Electro-Optical Systems Forecast and C4I Forecast. Andrew is also a regular contributor to FI's Defense & Security Monitor blog, offering insights into developing technologies such as directed-energy and next-generation jamming systems. His analysis of such vital market areas as EO/IR systems and electronic countermeasures technology has been cited in Defense News, Aerospace Daily, and Bloomberg Businessweek, among other news media. He has also written about the electronic defense market for Aviation Week and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
