U.S. Army Plans Multiple Counter UAS Competitions In 2025

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama—The U.S. Army is planning a series of competitions focused on either bringing on new capabilities for counter uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) or ensuring that what it is already buying is the best available.

Brig. Gen. Frank Lozano, the program executive officer for Missiles and Space, laid out four planned competitions for next year as the service is increasing its work on counter UAS amid increased tensions and real-world attacks on its forces.

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

The FAAD C2 replacement is known as IBCS-Maneuver. It has the ability to fuse tracts from multiple radars, use artificial intelligence (AI) to calculate different engagement possibilities and a self-healing mesh network, he says. 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 during a presentation at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium here on Aug. 6.

Also next year, 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 (NGCM). Lozano says there are other companies working on new interceptors, and the Army is interested in the ones that could also intercept rockets and potentially cruise missiles.

“Do we know, 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 says.

One 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 because of the inherent limitations in the power available for electronic warfare.

Lastly, Lozano says the Army will hold a competition for a new flat panel array radar for its Mobile-Low, Slow, Small-Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (M-LIDS). The system currently uses Raytheon’s Crossbow radar, and Lozano says the competition will see if that is the best available, noting that there are potential radars from Elbit Systems and SRC.