U.S. Army Counter-UAS Plans Include New Competition

The U.S. Army is set to kick off a new round of competitions to improve its ability to down small enemy drones while encouraging companies to find new ways to increase interceptors’ range and effectiveness.

While some of the competitions introduce new programs, the Army is also looking to recompete existing ones to ensure that it is buying the best. Brig. Gen. Frank Lozano, program executive officer of missiles and space, laid out four planned competitions for 2025 across the Army’s portfolio during a presentation at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, on Aug. 6.

• Recent demonstration centered on UAS swarms
• Army leaders want industry to focus on range

The first is a competition to replace the existing Northrop Grumman-provided Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD C2) for counter-uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS). FAAD C2 has been in use since the late 1980s for short-range air defense, controlling dozens of different weapons and sensors. Lozano said the Army wants to take the capabilities of its much larger-scale—and also Northrop-made—Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) and shrink it.

The Army wants the new smaller-scale system—known as IBCS-Maneuver—to collect tracts from multiple radars, use artificial intelligence to calculate different engagement possibilities and develop a self-healing mesh network, Lozano said. Eventually, the Army also wants to use the system for short-range air defense, though the initial focus is on counter-UAS.

“The intent will be to start off with something easily digestible, easily achievable, that many in industry can compete and participate in with the hopes of winning an award,” he said.

Second, the Army wants to start a competition for a next-generation counter-UAS missile. The service is currently buying Raytheon’s Coyote and last month selected Blue Halo’s Freedom Eagle-1 for the Next-Generation Counter-UAS Missile. Lozano said other companies are also working on new interceptors, and the Army is interested in those that can intercept rockets and potentially cruise missiles.

“Do we have confirmation that what we’re doing is actually the right thing—and a way to confirm that is to actually hold a competition to make sure that what we’re doing is the best thing—or if there’s somebody out there doing something better?” he remarked.

A notable contender could be Anduril’s Roadrunner counter-UAS missile, which the company unveiled in late 2023 and has been tested by U.S. Special Operations Command.

The Army is also planning a competition for a handheld counter-UAS system next year. The service wants to see what new technology is available, because handheld systems are typically limited in capability by inherent constraints on the power available for electronic warfare.

Lastly, Lozano said the Army will hold a competition for a new flat-panel array radar for its Mobile-Low, Slow, Small-Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System, which currently uses RTX’s Crossbow radar. Lozano says the competition will evaluate whether that is the best available, noting potential alternatives from Elbit Systems and SRC.

The Army regularly heads to the deserts of Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, for new technology demonstrations hosted by its Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Office. The most recent event, held in early July, tested nine systems against swarms of drones. The event included 50 simultaneous airborne targets coming from almost 360 deg. in what the service calls one of the largest mass small UAS attack demonstrations. The next demonstration, planned for March, will introduce electromagnetic interference, including active jamming, into a similar scenario.

Although most of the systems that the Army has deployed are stationary, service officials want companies to think mobile to extend the reach of sensors and shooters. The Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) and Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center have been developing autonomous ground systems as part of the service’s Project Origin UAS effort. This includes experimenting with gun-mounted, eight-wheel UAS that work in Army formations.

Speaking on Aug. 8 at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, RCCTO Director Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch said that instead of a gun, a counter-UAS system could be mounted on an uncrewed truck. “Imagine an environment where I could send a robot with a counter-UAS capability kilometers out front, where I don’t have soldiers potentially coming under fire,” he explained.

Rasch called on a crowd of industry representatives to think about ways to mount counter-UAS systems on uncrewed vehicles, as the Army is looking for a variety of payloads that would work with the open-architecture interfaces of Project Origin.

The RCCTO is going through a series of development phases on new counter-UAS systems, especially those that use directed energy. The office has fielded four Directed-Energy Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense prototypes, including a 15-kW-class system on a Stryker vehicle and palletized systems in the 10-20-kW classes, and deployed them  across the world, Rasch said.

The Army recently completed testing with the first Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) High-Power Microwave platoon from Epirus; the system is on track to deploy within the next 6-8 months. Rasch said the RCCTO expects the Lockheed Martin IFPC High-Energy Laser, which is about 300 kW, to be delivered in 2025.

Beyond counter-UAS, the Army is focusing much of its air defense on the new IFPC and announced a new competition for a second interceptor for its second increment. IFPC currently fires the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile for ground-launched air defense; Lozano said he wants to see an AIM-120-like capability from a smaller form factor.

During an Aug. 6 briefing, Lozano said the second interceptor is intended to protect against cruise missiles. The Army wants to move quickly; the competition is expected next year and development will be funded over the next five years.

Lozano wants industry to focus on developing new propellants to improve missile range and speed without increasing size, an acute necessity as the military focuses on moving weapons around the Indo-Pacific region.

“Making sure that you can provide advanced propellant recipes, rockets and missiles that go farther and fly faster at greater velocity with certain time of flights in our current form factors is paramount for what we’re trying to achieve,” he said.