U.S. Army awards Raytheon $191M contract for anti-UAV radar

November 1, 2018 - By Tracy Cozzens

KuRFS radars address urgent operational need against drone threats.

The U.S. Army awarded Raytheon 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, Raytheon said.

Already deployed, KuRFS delivers precision fire control as well as “sense and warn” capability for multiple missions including detection of swarming UAS threats, as well as rocket, artillery and mortar threats.

Raytheon's KuRFS radar is a multi-mission radar providing detection of UAS threats as well as rocket, artillery and mortar by providing a critical sense and warn capability. (Photo: Raytheon)

Raytheon’s KuRFS radar. (Photo: Raytheon)

“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, Raytheon said.

Raytheon’ KuRFS is able to quickly address the urgent needs of the army through a model of rapid-turn development and deployment, the company added. This reduces time to fielding, while providing enhanced flexibility to adapt to a quickly-changing threat environment in the drone space.