RTX's Raytheon wins $729 million in counter-drone contracts for the US, Qatar, and Jordan
TLDR
- Raytheon, an RTX business, won $729 million to deliver LIDS counter-drone components to the US Army, Qatar and Jordan.12
- Qatar and Jordan are buying into the Army's own counter-drone architecture, in the first international sales of KuRFS and Coyote.12
- Raytheon says it is accelerating Coyote production and adding upgrades.1
Raytheon, an RTX business, was awarded $729 million to deliver critical components of its LIDS counter-drone system to the US Army, Qatar, and Jordan.12 LIDS, or the Low, slow, small, unmanned aircraft Integrated Defeat System, incorporates Raytheon's Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor (KuRFS) and its Coyote effector, and the contract marks the first international sales of both.1
As a key element of the US Army's LIDS programme, KuRFS provides 360-degree threat detection while Coyote's low-cost kinetic and non-kinetic effectors defeat individual drones and swarms, with hundreds of intercepts logged in combat.1 The contract covers a mix of fixed-site and mobile configurations for Qatar and Jordan in addition to the US Army.12 "LIDS provides a proven and cost-effective layer of defense that ensures allied forces have the protection they need against hostile drones," said Tom Laliberty, president of Land and Air Defense Systems at Raytheon. "To stay ahead of rapidly evolving drone threats, Raytheon is accelerating production of the Coyote family of effectors."1
RTX said it is investing to expand Coyote production and integrate new technologies into the interceptor, including upgrades for faster launch times, higher speeds, and greater range at higher altitudes, to keep pace with evolving drone threats.1
Why it matters: the first international sales of KuRFS and Coyote show US allies in the Gulf buying directly into the Army's own counter-drone architecture rather than separate national systems, and the scale of the order signals Raytheon is betting on sustained, not one-off, demand for drone defence.