US Army Selects Raytheon for Near-Term Counter-UAS Mission

The U.S. Army recently announced the selection of Raytheon’s Coyote unmanned aircraft system and the Ku-band Radio Frequency System (KRFS) radar, to counter the escalating threat of enemy UAVs in the skies above the battlefield.

Equipped with an advanced seeker and warhead, the Coyote-enabled system can successfully identify and eliminate threat UAVs when paired with an advanced electronically scanned array KRFS radar, which acquires and accurately tracks all sizes of UAS threats.

“Enemy unmanned aircraft are among the biggest threats facing our ground troops today,” said Dr. Thomas Bussing, Raytheon Advanced Missile Systems vice president. “Our small, expendable Coyote provides the Army with an affordable and highly effective solution for countering the growing UAS threat.”

Coyote UAS

The most capable UAS in its class, Coyote is small, expendable and tube-launched. It can deploy from the ground, air or a ship.

Coyotes can fly individually or netted together in swarms. They are adaptable for a variety of missions including surveillance, electronic warfare and strike.

The versatile Coyote is also used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for hurricane tracking and modeling.

Raytheon is finalizing development of advanced Coyote variants that will fly faster and farther.

Because of urgent operational need, the Army plans to use Coyote as a counter-UAS solution before years’ end.

KRFS Radar

The KRFS radar in use today is a multi-mission radar providing rocket, artillery and mortar, sense and warn, and counter-UAS mission capabilities.

Its accuracy enables significant UAS mission performance including precision fire control and UAS swarm scenarios at tactically significant distances.

“The warfighter needs a complete mission solution to successfully counter UAS threats,” said Dave Gulla, Raytheon Mission Systems and Sensors vice president. “Our quickly transportable system that tracks low-swarming threats with KRFS and eliminates those threats with Coyote, is a game changer for the U.S. Army.”

To date, Raytheon has delivered 40 KRFS radars with more than 32 deployed by the Army. Furthermore, it is upgrading the systems for extending capability and ensuring support of the soldier beyond 2025.