The US Army has awarded a $191m contract to Raytheon for the delivery of the Ku-band radio frequency radars, KuRFS.
Under the contract, Raytheon will deliver the advanced electronically scanned array system to address an urgent operational need for a counter-unmanned aircraft system radar to defend against drone threats.
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Already deployed with the army, KuRFS offers precision fire control, and ‘sense and warn’ capabilities for a wide range of missions, including detection of rocket, artillery, mortar, and swarming unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) threats.
Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems tactical radars senior director Andrew Hajek said: “Seeing threats, like swarming drones, as soon as possible on the battlefield is essential to protecting critical assets and saving soldiers’ lives.
“KuRFS makes this possible by delivering a unique combination 360° situational awareness, precision and mobility.”
Designed and built by Raytheon, KuRFS provides defence and protection against different types of threats through integration with the land-based Phalanx weapon system, the 50-calibre guns, and 30mm cannons.
In addition, the Ku-band radar supports high-energy laser and the expendable Coyote weapon system in both a ground-mounted and vehicle-mounted configuration.
The KuRFS system has been specifically designed to be able to quickly address the immediate requirements of the US Army through a model of rapid-turn development and deployment.
This will help reduce the time to fielding while ensuring increased flexibility to adapt to a rapidly evolving threat environment in UAV space.
When combined with Raytheon’s Coyote intelligence and surveillance drone, the radar becomes a hit-to-kill kinetic interceptor that can take out small, consumer-sized drones.
