Based on a selective picture of just the activity discussed in this post, the month of December saw multi-year purchases of C-UAS technology valued at well over $1 billion. This number is likely only a fraction of the total expenditures, as virtually every major military and security force is now routinely budgeting for the defense systems. The milestone month was typical for a highly active year that regularly saw big ticket purchases of C-UAS.
The closing out of 2025 in counter-drone news was also notable for highlighting the global increase in demand for the technology. Outside the United States, Australia, Kenya, Lithuania, and the Netherlands, among other nations, all made significant moves to address the persistent challenge of hostile drone activity, not only for defense forces, but for critical infrastructure and other high value, potential targets as well.
Kicking off the month, on high note, on December 1, Saab received a third order, valued at approximately SEK 1.4 billion, for its Mobile Short Range Air Defence (MSHORAD) system from the Lithuanian Defence Materiel Agency. The system will be integrated into Oshkosh JLTV 4×4 vehicles.
The MSHORAD air defense system consists of mobile radar and firing units based on the RBS 70 NG short-range air defense missile and the Giraffe 1X radar, connected with a command-and-control system (GBAD C2) and datalink.
Deliveries are scheduled for a 2026-2030 timeframe.
In the U.S., December 5th brought the announcement from Fortem Technologies of a strategic partnership with Southern States LLC, a provider of high-voltage switching and grid-resiliency technology to equip utilities with solutions to respond to drone-related threats targeting critical grid infrastructure.
According to the announcement, Southern States recently launched its Airspace Awareness product line, integrating Fortem’s TrueView radar and DroneHunter F700 interceptors.
On December 9, AeroVironment (AV) was awarded a five-year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract worth $874.2 million from the U.S. Army Contracting Command, enabling allied and partner forces to procure a range of Groups 1-3 unmanned aerial and C-UAS systems.
AV-produced systems available under this contract include specific variations of their JUMP 20, P550, Puma, Raven, and Titan C-UAS systems along with training, initial spares packages, and logistics support.
Meanwhile in Australia, mid-December saw a demonstration by Leidos Australia and its Land 156 project partners in shooting down drones kinetically and non-kinetically. The live-fire event dubbed, Exercise Southern Arrow 25, confirmed the effectiveness and successful integration of advanced systems to detect, track and neutralize small, Group 1 and 2 drones in the field.
According to Leidos Australia, the event validated and integrated core technologies, including the Acacia Systems’ Cortex command-and-control system, EOS Defence Systems’ effector suite and Department 13’s sensor system, alongside Echodyne’s MESA radars and L3 Harris’ VAMPIRE laser-guided rocket system.
On December 17, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace signed a contract with Rheinmetall Air Defence for delivery of its command and control solution into the Skyranger 30 mobile air defense system for the Dutch Ministry of Defence. The contract further secures integration between the Skyranger 30 and the nation’s National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) and National Manoeuvre Air Defence System (NOMADS).
In other, concurrent Kongsberg-related news, the U.S. Marine Corps ushered full-rate production of the company’s Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS), a short-range air defense platform designed to neutralize both unmanned aerial systems and manned aircraft.
MADIS combines two distinct vehicles to address specific threats: one unit is equipped to counter helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft with Stinger missiles or a 30mm cannon, while the second vehicle focuses on drone defense.
Finally, for the close of 2025, December 17 also saw the Kenyan Armed Forces take delivery of the Rafael-produced SPYDER air-defense system. SPYDER is designed for defense against threats including drones, missiles, precision-guided munitions, and helicopters.
The Georgian military had also taken delivery of the active SPYDER for its defenses late in November, as did the Philippine government in the previous month.
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.
