On Thursday, the Department of Defense announced an agreement worth about $425,8 million with SRC Inc. for development, production, deployment and support of the Expeditionary-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System (E-LIDS).
The E-LIDS is a mobile counter-drone system designed to protect troops against enemy-armed and intelligence gathering small Unmanned Aerial System’s operating at various speeds and altitudes.
Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 26, 2025, according to a press release issued by the Department of Defense.
No details on the system were disclosed, except that the new system will detect, track, identifies and defeats hostile small UAS.
The E-LIDS technology comprises proven, radar and electronic warfare systems, a camera for visual identification of targets and a user display to provide the warfighter with advanced situational awareness.
Once a UAS has been identified as hostile, the operator has the option of engaging with various low-cost, low-risk EW effects, like interrupting UAS communication links, causing the craft to return to its base station or perform an emergency landing.