Raytheon Technologies has won a $237 million contract from the US Army for the delivery of Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensors (KuRFS) and Coyote missiles, which will be used to detect and defeat unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
As announced by the company on April 19, the contract encompasses both stationary and portable systems, along with a specific number of effectors designed to aid the US Central Command operations of the Army.
Raytheons’ KuRFS and Coyote effectors are components of the US Army’s low, slow, small unmanned aircraft integrated defeat system (LIDS). The KuRFS system provides 360-degree threat detection capabilities, while the low-cost Coyote effectors are capable of defeating drones.
KuRFS technology includes the precision targeting radar and the scaled Ku720 mobile sensing radar, which enable the persistent detection, identification, and tracking of airborne threats from a distance of up to 60 kilometers.
Raytheon says its Coyote effector is designed to intercept and disable hostile drones, capable of defeating single drones and swarms of varying size and maneuverability at higher altitudes and longer ranges than other systems in its class.
“The KuRFS radar and Coyote effectors effectively detect and defeat unmanned aircraft systems, an increasingly evident and global threat,” said Tom Laliberty president of Land Warfare & Air Defense at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “LIDS is operationally deployed, providing a proven, reliable, and essential layer of defense against enemy drones.”
In addition to Raytheon’s KuRFS and Coyote effectors, the US Army’s LIDS features Syracuse Research Corporation’s electronic warfare system resulting in a multi-mission fixed, relocatable, or mobile deployed system for extended-range defense solution.
