Combatting UAS - Utilising Resources Effectively in an Asymmetric Defence Environment

Today’s threat landscape is constantly changing. As the engineering director for Raytheon UK, my primary goal is to produce agile, sovereign capabilities that give our UK armed forces the ability to respond to the changing nature of warfare.

One notable challenge has been the recent surge in small, affordable Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs). With their agility and small size, these cost-effective drones have incredible manoeuvrability and make detection and interception an increasingly arduous task for our armed forces.

The disruptiveness of drone warfare has been recently seen to great effect during hostilities in Ukraine and in the Red Sea. Houthi drone and missile barrages have demonstrated the asymmetric cost advantage of using UAVs to overwhelm air defences. As such, it’s imperative that we and our industry colleagues deliver effective Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) solutions at the right pace to protect vital assets.

Our work on delivering a High-Energy Laser (HEL) weapon system to the UK Ministry of Defence to be installed on the UK Wolfhound land vehicle is one example of the industry investing in counter-UAS capabilities in order to face this increased threat. The 15-kilowatt laser works in tandem with a separate radar to track UAS threats. The radar first identifies a target and feeds information into the Command and Control System operated by troops within the Wolfhound. The laser weapon uses an electro-optical/infrared sensor and is interoperable with a wide variety of platforms and modern air defence systems.

It successfully completed four days of live-fire exercises in the US last year to acquire, target, track, and destroy drone targets in short-range attack, swarm attack, and long-range threat scenarios.

HEL systems offer unlimited magazines when linked to a high-power source, thus reducing the cost of eliminating a drone threat to pocket change. That is one of the reasons why the UK Government has earmarked £6.6bn in research funds for emerging weapons technologies like laser weapons over the next four years.

To stay ahead of the curve, we’ve also opened an advanced laser integration center in Livingston, Scotland. The center focuses on the testing, fielding, and maintenance of defensive high-energy laser weapons and will be a regional hub for ensuring that laser systems in the field are quickly maintained and repaired. Having our own infrastructure to support this cutting-edge capability allows us to work with minimal supply chain disruption and allows for as much testing and innovation time as possible.

"HEL systems offer unlimited magazines when linked to a high-power source, thus reducing the cost of eliminating a drone threat to pocket change."

A successful ground-based air defense requires multi-layered capabilities covering varying ranges. Another contributing factor is a strong command and control “backbone” to rapidly share information across the units. For C-UAS, HEL’s focus on short-range air defense, when added to other sensing, effecting, and command and control capabilities offered by Raytheon, allows our armed forces to enjoy broader protection across the C-UAS spectrum. For example, the combat-proven Coyote® kinetic effector, paired with Raytheon’s Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor, or KuRFS radar, provides essential detection and defeat capabilities in the defense against UAS threats.

Only through smart thinking, close cross-Atlantic ties, and a willingness to innovate will we be able to contain the UAS threat. Our mission at Raytheon UK is to think three steps ahead.