The U.S. Army plans to substantially increase its arsenal of Coyote counter-drone interceptors, as well as associated launchers and radars, in the next five years or so. The service says it wants to buy 6,000 jet-powered Block 2 variants, which carry an explosive warhead to destroy their target, and 700 more Block 3 versions that utilize an unspecified “non-kinetic” payload.
The Army disclosed the details about its Coyote-related purchase plans for Fiscal Years 2025 through 2029 in a contracting notice about an expected sole-source contract to manufacturer Raytheon released earlier this week. In addition to the Block 2 and Block 3 interceptors, the service is looking to acquire 252 fixed launchers, 52 mobile launchers, 118 fixed Ku-band radars, and 33 mobile radars. Under the deal, Raytheon would also provide support for the maintenance and repair of at least 15 Coyote systems both in the United States and unspecified forward-deployed locations around the world.
The estimated production requirement over five years (FY25-FY29) is:
System Minimum Quantity
Fixed Site Coyote Launcher Systems 252
Mobile Coyote Launcher Systems 25
Coyote Kinetic Interceptor 6000
Coyote Non-Kinetic Interceptor 700
Fixed Site KuRFS 118
Mobile KuRFS 33
The announcement does not include any projected costs, but the unit price of a Block 2 Coyote is reportedly around $100,000 – a relatively low cost compared to traditional surface-to-air missiles. As such, the cost to purchase the 6,700 interceptors could be up to $670 million.