![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/KuRFS_Coyote.PNG.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThere are multiple ways of taking it down. You can use a kinetic effector, like the Coyote Block 2, which goes out to farther ranges in this specific mission compared to other effects, and defeats the threat before it gets close enough to do any harm. And when I say other effects, you can look at electronic warfare (EW), so you can jam it, or you could look at what we have with Raytheon Intelligence and Space\u2019s High-Energy Laser. RIS, in concert with the U.S. Air Force, developed and deployed a 10-kilowatt and a 15-kilowatt system. Recently, they have been working with the Army to build and deliver a 50-kilowatt laser integrated on a Stryker vehicle called DE-MSHORAD. In simplistic terminology, basically you put a lot of energy on a specific spot of the threat where it\u2019s most vulnerable to take it down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DN: We\u2019ve talked a lot about how quickly this has changed and become more common, but as you look forward, what\u2019s the next evolution of CUAS? How do you see it changing as we adapt to some of these threats and prepare for new threats that we just don\u2019t know about right now?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
AG:<\/b> I think the next evolution includes continuous development to mature, advance and adapt solutions as well as driving down cost. Cost is a big player in this game. We talked about it, availability of these small UASs at a low cost point makes them appealing to our adversaries. You don\u2019t need or want to expend a sophisticated or expensive missile to down a thousand-dollar drone. And so constantly looking at lower-cost methods or ways of taking down these threats is paramount. I truly believe, you\u2019re always going to need a kinetic effector for this mission space as part of the front end of the layered defense. EW has effects, but these technologies will also need to continuously evolve as the threats evolve because they could potentially figure out ways how to get around the EW effectors. That\u2019s where the mix of effectors is key. It\u2019s very difficult to get around something that goes \u201cboom.\u201d And so in my eyes, I see evolution continuing on both types of effectors. On the kinetic effectors, more development or upgrades to our Coyote Block 2, and potentially a development of a new missile as we see differing requirements, or new improved requirements, to combat the threat maybe five to 10 years from now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DN: It\u2019s funny how often the answer to some really smart technological attack is \u2018hit it with something dumb.\u2019 Like you mentioned, the kinetic weapon is always going to be there because the others can be interfered with, but that really can\u2019t.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
AG:<\/b> Right. When you talk about the non-kinetic stuff that\u2019s matured very quickly over the last couple years and things that maybe a decade ago everyone thought was the future and it was never going to get here, and now it\u2019s here. We talked about directed energy, high-powered microwave, high-energy lasers, kudos to those folks and those teams that have made them a reality. Like all counter-effects, these technologies will continue to evolve to safeguard against efforts to find ways to evade or fortify against those. But you have something that\u2019s kinetic in the mix of defenses, an effector that essentially has a warhead with fragments that can take these things down, it\u2019s very difficult to combat something like that. At the end of the day, we talk about layered defense of the UAS threat, where you have multiple different kinetic and non-kinetic effectors integrated as a single system of systems, since there isn\u2019t one single bullet or way to defend against this complex and challenging threat set.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":112171,"menu_order":0,"template":"single-native-legacy","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"18"},"advertiser":[3522],"class_list":["post-31853","native","type-native","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","advertiser-raytheon-missiles-defense"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"DFWXIUHS7FGKRMRHFOUJEYDPPQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/native\/raytheon-missiles-defense\/2022\/12\/02\/qa-the-role-of-cuas-on-the-modern-battlefield\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"native-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n