Coyote Block 2 C-UAS’s four rocket-assist boosters that help get the missile off its rails
The US Army has approved Raytheon’s Coyote Block 2 counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) for Foreign Military Sales (FMS).
Lisa Hunter, US Army spokesperson, said on 19 February that interested customers should submit a letter of request through their local security co-operation office, starting with the Office of Defense Cooperation at their local US embassy. The Coyote Block 2 C-UAS capability is a rail-launched surface-to-air missile (SAM) being developed for the US Army through the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA).
Juan Santiago, C-UAS product director at the Program Executive Office (PEO) Missiles and Space, part of the US Army Rapid Capabilities Office, told Jane’s on 12 February that this Coyote C-UAS contract is a cost-plus-fixed-fee effort that provides analysis, design, development, prototyping, integration, testing, and production of expendable tube-launched UAS to protect against hostile attacks, intelligence gathering, and other malicious activities directed against critical infrastructure.
Raytheon Missile Systems was awarded three tasks orders, all awarded competitively, as part of the Coyote Interceptor Program. Santiago said that the first contract was awarded through the Office of Naval Research (ONR) while the second contract was through the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). The third competitive contract, he said, was awarded by the DMEA.
Pete Mangelsdorf, Raytheon Missile Systems programme director for Coyote and rapid development programmes, told Jane’s on 23 January at a Raytheon facility outside Washington DC that the Coyote Block 2 C-UAS was powered by a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) turbine engine that takes over from an initial rocket assist boost that gets the Coyote Block 2 C-UAS off the rail. Mangelsdorf said that the company reduced the cost-per-kill on each missile by 10% by using a COTS turbine engine instead of a proprietary engine.
Photo: Jane’s/Pat Host
Source: Jane’s