On 1 November, Raytheon has announced that the U.S. Army awarded the company a $191 million contract for Ku-band radio frequency radars. KuRFS, an advanced electronically scanned array system, fills an immediate U.S. Army operational need for a counter-unmanned aerial vehicle radar.
According to a statement, already deployed, KuRFS delivers precision fire control as well as “sense and warn” capability for multiple missions including detection of rocket, artillery, mortar and swarming UAS threats.
“Seeing threats – like swarming drones – as soon as possible on the battlefield is essential to protecting critical assets and saving soldiers’ lives,” said Andrew Hajek, senior director of tactical radars at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. “KuRFS makes this possible by delivering a unique combination 360-degree situational awareness, precision and mobility.”
KuRFS enables defense against multiple threat types through integration with the Land-Based Phalanx Weapon System, 50-caliber guns and 30 mm cannons. The radar also supports high-energy laser and the Coyote weapon system in both a ground mounted or vehicle mounted configuration.
Because of an urgent operational need, the Army is expected to use Coyote as a counter-UAS solution before the end of the year.
Raytheon’ KuRFS is able to quickly address the urgent needs of the Army through a model of rapid-turn development and deployment. This reduces time to fielding, while providing enhanced flexibility to adapt to a quickly-changing threat environment in the drone space.