{"id":8471,"date":"2026-03-31T02:23:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T02:23:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/war-boosts-counter-drone-sales-joint-ventures\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:23:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T02:23:37","slug":"war-boosts-counter-drone-sales-joint-ventures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/war-boosts-counter-drone-sales-joint-ventures\/","title":{"rendered":"War boosts counter-drone sales, joint ventures"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mideast governments have long invested in air defenses\u2014notably, U.S.-made THAAD and Patriot interceptors\u2014and counter-drone defenses, particularly since the 2019 drone attack on Saudi oil infrastructure at Abqaiq. But recent weeks and months have seen a flurry of activity\u2014in ventures by defense-tech companies\u00a0and orders from\u00a0nations under fire.<\/p>\n

Last June, SRC announced it would deliver Raytheon Coyote interceptors as part of a $1 billion FMS deal with Qatar. The rail-launched missile has a boost rocket motor and a turbine engine to take down small and large drones and swarms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In November, MBDA made its first sale of its Sky Warden system to a Middle Eastern country\u2014likely Oman or another of the region\u2019s heavy counter-drone investors. Sky Warden\u2019s weapons include omni- and unidirectional jammers, a CILAS HELMA-P laser, and MBDA\u2019s own Hit-to-Kill and MISTRAL 3 missiles.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 28, just before the U.S. and Israel launched their joint attack on Iran, the State Department approved an FMS order to Jordan of Ku-Band Multi-Function Radio Frequency System radars, command and control system; generators; GPS receivers, and related equipment for an estimated $280 million.<\/p>\n

On March 19, State approved the sale to the UAE of 10 Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat Systems for an estimated $2.1 billion. The sale was reported to include 240 Coyote Block 2 All-Up-Rounds, 4-pack Coyote launchers,KuMRFS radars; EO\/IR cameras; PYQ-10 Simple Key Loaders; Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control systems; support and test equipment; and other supporting elements.<\/p>\n

Joint ventures<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some C-UAS programs can require the integration of more than a handful of elements\u2014radar, electro-optical systems, communications, electronic warfare, command and control, AI, soft-kill jammers, hard-kill missiles, and more. This is leading to more teaming ventures and strategic partnerships\u2014often, companies with niche expertise joining to offer fuller-service C-UAS systems.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 7, U.K.-based Babcock International and Estonia\u2019s missile-making Frankenburg Technologies announced an effort to develop an affordable, containerized maritime air defense system against single and massed drones.<\/p>\n

Five days later, Axon Vision, a provider of AI-powered solutions for defense applications, said it had received an order from Leonardo DRS for its new AI-based system that detects, classifies, tracks, and intercepts C-UAS. The systems are to participate in operational evaluations and live exercises on manned and unmanned ground platforms.<\/p>\n

In late March, Epirus, General Dynamics Land Systems and Kodiak AI joined to introduce the Leonidas Autonomous Ground Vehicle, a commercial truck equipped with Kodiak Driver, an AI-powered autonomous driving system, and armed with Epirus\u2019 Leonidas C-UAS high-power microwave weapon.<\/p>\n

More sales<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Jan. 20, Fortem Technologies announced the first deliveries of its DroneHunter 5.0 autonomous interceptor, just weeks after Pentagon\u2019s C-UAS task force cleared the web-equipped quadcopter for sale under the Replicator-2 initiative. Each DroneHunter has two cameras and enough computing power to autonomously engage multiple targets. In February, the company announced another sale: a multimillion-dollar order for DroneHunters to protect U.S. venues at the 11-city, 2026 FIFA World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Jan. 26, the Ukraine Navy gave Sierra Nevada Corp. a one-year, $14.9 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for C-UAS program field services, maintenance and sustainment. This contract also covers reach-back support for various systems deployed in Eastern Europe under NATO.<\/p>\n

Four days later, Norway\u2019s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa received a contract valued around NOK 16 billion from the Polish Armaments Agency for 18 C-UAS batteries.<\/p>\n

In February, Lockheed Martin delivered to the U.S. Army the first Sentinel A4 radar system for integration and testing. Sentinel A4 is designed to detect and track small drones, low-flying cruise missiles, and other aerial threats in complex urban environments.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 11, Raytheon demoed its microwave-equipped Coyote for the U.S. Army.<\/p>\n

The next day, BAE Systems secured a cost-plus-fixed-fee indefinite-delivery\/indefinite-quantity contract with a ceiling of $145 million to develop, build, and deliver C-UAS systems. BAE Systems has been marketing its BAE Systems Anti-Threat System, a command-and-control system to spot, classify, and defeat drones.<\/p>\n

And the race to develop more drone-killing weapons goes on. On Feb. 19, The U.S. Army Contracting Command issued a request for information to identify new technologies for the Red Sands Hard Kill Challenge in Saudi Arabia, which aims to advance development of \u201chard kill\u201d weapons to defeat small (Group 1-3) drones in complex and contested environments.\n\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<\/div>\n