A new counter-drone focused variant of the 8×8 Stryker light armoured vehicle armed with a laser directed energy weapon, laser-guided 70mm rockets, a 30mm automatic cannon, radars and other sensors has broken cover.
Defense contractor Leonardo DRS and its industry partners are actively pitching the vehicle to the U.S. Army, which is looking to significantly grow its short-range air defense capabilities in the coming years. That service is also very interested in new laser-armed options, specifically, after lackluster field tests of a different Stryker-based system earlier this year.
Leonardo DRS, the U.S.-based subsidiary of Italy’s Leonardo, released a video detailing what it is currently calling the Counter-Uncrewed Aerial Systems Directed Energy (C-UAS DE) Stryker . The company says seven other partners – BlueHalo, EOS Defense Systems USA, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Arnold Defense, AMPEX, and Digital Systems Engineering – contributed to the development of the prototype in around eight months.
The laser directed energy weapon, a 26-kilowatt version of the LOCUST from BlueHalo installed on a retractable mount on top of the rear of the hull, is clearly the centerpiece of the new counter-drone Stryker prototype.
“It’s going to provide a directed energy capability that can kill group ones, twos, three UASs at very long range,”
Ed House Senior Director of Business Development at Leonardo DRS says in the video.
Per the U.S. military’s definitions, drones in these three categories, collectively, can weigh up to 1,320 pounds, fly at altitudes up to 18,000 feet, and get up to top speeds of 250 knots. BlueHalo does not appear to have disclosed a maximum engagement range for the LOCUST.
The C-UAS DE Stryker also has a four-round launcher from Arnold Defense for 70mm laser-guided Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rockets on a semi-retractable mount on top of the left side of the rear of the hull. This is a combination that is found on other counter-drone systems, including L3Harris VAMPIREs now being actively employed in Ukraine. APWKS II rockets with new proximity-fuzed warheads optimized for knocking down uncrewed aircraft are in the works.
The Stryker prototype from Leonardo DRS and its partners also has an EOS R400-series remote weapon station armed with a 30mm XM914 automatic cannon and 7.62x51mm M240B machine gun on top of the front end of the hull. The XM914 is another increasingly common feature in counter-drone systems and can now fire proximity-fuzed shells, further increasing its effectiveness in this role.
Source: The War Zone