unveiled LOCUST, a Low-Cost Counter-Unmanned Aerial System for Targeting, at the 2019 Counter UAS Summit in August and showcased LOCUST at AUSA’s Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 14-16, 2019 in Washington D.C.
LOCUST will also be participating in U.S. government field experiments in October and November. LOCUST was designed from the ground-up to provide a capable and cost effective defense against low cost asymmetric unmanned aerial system (UAS) threats. LOCUST detects and identifies UAS threats using active and passive radio frequency (RF) and electro-optical infrared (EOIR) sensor subsystems, and it negates the threats using intelligent electronic attack (EA) and high energy laser (HEL) effectors.
Each affordable LOCUST delivers a layered detection and identification capability in a fixed emplacement configuration or on a mobile platform with HEL shoot-on-the-move capability. LOCUST is designed for the counter UAS mission, and the technologies and approach are scalable to provide a compact, rugged, and modular multi-mission system to conduct more effective and efficient detection, identification, management, and mitigation of Group 1 and Group 2 UAS threats. LOCUST is designed for installation on military or commercial platforms to defeat UAS and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) threats, as well as provide ISR capability. It can be rapidly inserted into integrated battle management, command, and control (BMC2) architectures as well.
“Applying ATA’s technical strengths to help protect our military and civilians from the rapidly emerging threats of small unmanned aerial systems is an endeavour that builds on our heritage and is pivotal to ATA’s future aspirations for high-tech solutions and manufacturing,” said ATA President Dan Gillings.
LOCUST leverages over 30 years of experience providing precision pointing, tracking, and beam and fire control on laser weapon programs. ATA, in business since 1975, is an advanced technology company specializing in precision stabilization, tracking, pointing, and controls for optical systems including HEL systems and optical communications systems. ATA is an ISO 9001 certified quality organization.
Source: Press Release