The US Army plans to acquire thousands of small unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) designed to intercept and destroy enemy drones.
In a solicitation released on 18 December, the army revealed its intent to award a sole-source purchase contract to Raytheon for the Coyote UAV interceptor, covering 6,700 of the tube-launched, expendable aircraft.
Coyote is an air-breathing, radar-guided missile powered by synthetic aviation fuel, according to the army description.
The system boasts a flight endurance of one hour and can be flown individually or “netted together in swarms”, according to Raytheon.
While the army solicitation notice does not represent a formal commitment to the acquisition, the purchase would represent a substantial expansion of the existing Coyote programme, which the army is currently fielding in smaller numbers.
“The US Army has a need to develop, produce and maintain countermeasures against enemy armed and intelligence-gathering uncrewed aerial systems operating at various speeds and altitudes which are targeting both US and their allies’ interests at home and abroad,” the Pentagon says.
The solicitation outlines the army’s desired Coyote equipment list, including 6,000 explosive warhead kinetic interceptors, 700 “non-kinetic” interceptors, 252 fixed launchers, 25 mobile launch systems and 151 Ku-band fire control radars.
In the context of counter-UAV weaponry, non-kinetic refers to the use of electronic warfare or directed energy to jam or destroy enemy drones. Raytheon has previously declined to disclose specifics about what approach is used in the non-kinetic Coyote variant.
Defence producers in the US have been rushing to develop and deploy counter-drone systems, as interest in the technology surges at the Pentagon.
Small UAVs, including commercially available quadcopter drones and purpose-built military platforms, have proven devastating on the battlefields of Ukraine.
Iranian-made loitering munitions like the long-range Shahed-136 have bombarded population centres, while both Ukrainian and Russian forces have modified small quadcopters to directly attack armoured vehicles and dismounted troops or act as airborne spotters for artillery fire.
US forces in the Middle East, including both naval ships and ground bases, have taken fire from Iranian-backed proxy groups using so-called “kamikaze drones” on more than 40 occasions since October, with at least 65 US personnel injured.
Such munitions are cheap to produce and can be deployed in numerically dense waves or swarms – potentially overwhelming conventional air defences.
Western air defence systems provided to Ukraine, such as Raytheon’s Patriot battery, have proven capable of defeating the threat, but require large, guided missiles that are costly and complex to produce.
Coyote is an answer to the problem of protecting battlefield troops and installations from the threat of lethal UAVs.
The system is light enough to be fired from a small tactical truck and cheap enough to be produced in mass quantities. While no dollar figures are included in the army’s sole-source announcement, a single Coyote interceptor is believed to cost between $100,000 and $200,000.
US defence start-up Anduril Industries in November revealed a competitor to the Coyote – playfully dubbed the Roadrunner – which the California manufacturer says will have a price point in the “low six figures”.
While the Raytheon Coyote is an expendable system, Anduril says the Roadrunner is capable of landing vertically for refuelling and reuse, if the interceptor’s explosive warhead is not activated during a mission.
