An armored vehicle fires a Raytheon Coyote counter-drone missile. (Raytheon)
WASHINGTON — The Army is seeking industry input to acquire a new missile that costs less than $150,000 while still capable of taking down Group 2 and 3 small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) and compatible with Raytheon’s Coyote launcher, according to a request for information.
The Army also wants the missile, dubbed the Next Generation C-sUAS Missile (NGCM), to go faster and farther than current systems capable of countering drones weighing 21 to 1,320 lbs.
“The principal objectives for this effort are to develop, produce, and sustain a missile capability at extended ranges with rapid launch and reduced time-to-target over existing effectors,” the RFI published Tuesday read.
Those extended ranges specifically refer to targeting small drones farther than 16 kilometers (9.94 miles) at an altitude of at least 6 kilometers. Ideally, however, the Army is looking for the missiles to hit drones further than 25 kilometers at more than 8 kilometers in altitude, per the solicitation.
