BAE Systems unveils high power microwave and MDACS gun to counter drone swarms at AUSA

TLDR

• BAE Systems introduced the MDACS cannon system and a High Power Microwave (HPM) counter-drone system at AUSA 2026.¹³
• The HPM can defeat Group 1 and 2 drones, including fibre-optic-linked ones that jamming cannot stop.²
• BAE has one HPM prototype, which it says is ready for operational testing in a theatre command.²

BAE Systems introduced the Multi-Domain Artillery Cannon System (MDACS) and a High Power Microwave (HPM) system at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in a release dated 12 October.¹³ The two are pitched as layers of a counter-uncrewed aircraft system (C-UAS) approach to protecting installations and manoeuvring forces from drone swarms.¹³

MDACS supplies the kinetic layer. It fires the Hypervelocity Projectile for air defence and Scorpio-XR for ground targets, with BAE claiming Scorpio-XR reaches twice as far as existing 155mm cannon projectiles, and it is air-transportable.¹³ The HPM supplies the directed-energy layer. BAE says it is more than 99% commercial off-the-shelf hardware and, in the words of BAE's Jason Casciotti, "as long as there is power, there is defence."¹³

Defense Daily adds that the HPM has been in development and testing for four years under a contract with an undisclosed Pentagon customer, with hardware ready for two years.² It is designed to defeat Group 1 and 2 drones, including fibre-optic-linked drones, and is described as a separate design from the Air Force Research Laboratory's THOR system.² BAE has one prototype, is self-funding some of its maturation, and says it is ready for operational testing in a theatre command; Chris Laski described it as modular, with possible installation on ships, trailers, and fixed sites.²

Why it matters: microwave weapons that can disable several drones at once, including fibre-optic drones that jammers cannot touch, go after the cost problem of shooting cheap drones with expensive interceptors, and a ready-to-test prototype from a large prime adds to the directed-energy options available to the Army and other customers.