Skip to main content

Leidos wins $26 million US Air Force counter-drone contract

US defense and security company Leidos Inc. has won a $26 million Air Force Research Laboratory contract to deliver its next-generation counter-drone system designed to neutralize attacks by both individual and swarming UAVs.

The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) said it had built THOR with support from Virginia-based Leidos with a contract to continue development of its Mjölnir counter-drone system, which uses microwave tech to take out hostile craft. The platform is based on the company’s earlier Tactical High-Power Operational Responder (THOR) prototype, which was billed as being as fast and easy to deploy as it was efficient in eliminating attacking UAVs.

During testing last year, the platform scored a 90% effectiveness rate, which Leidos says further fine-tuning can increase to 100%.

Leidos’s anti-drone asset detects approaching craft early enough to analyze the nature of the threats they pose. It then uses bursts of microwave energy to disable craft operating in swarms. 

The unit is stored in a single cargo container enabling fast ground deployment or transport aboard Air Force cargo planes. Once at its point of defense, it can be set up by two people within three hours, requires minimal training to operate, and generates the power needed to eliminate enemy UAVs from a simple wall plug.

Indeed, arguably the hardest part of using Leidos’s Mjölnir counter-drone system will be pronouncing its name, which is derived from the initial project’s mythical acronym.

“The new prototype will be called Mjölnir, the mythical Norse God Thor’s mighty hammer,” explained Adrian Lucero, THOR program manager at AFRL’s Directed Energy Directorate. “Because THOR was so successful, we wanted to keep the new system’s name in the family.”

Mjölnir will retain THOR’s High Power Electromagnetics (HPS) technological punch and add improvements in capability, reliability, and manufacturing readiness. Work on the new iteration is slated to start this spring, with prototype delivery expected by 2023. 

Leidos will also design it to serve as the basis for future AFRL counter-drone systems. 

“Mjölnir will focus on creating a detailed blueprint for all future cUAS HPM systems with enhanced range and technology for detecting and tracking UASs,” said Lucero. “This will ensure the U.S maintains our electromagnetic spectrum superiority.”      

THOR deputy program manager, 1st Lt. Tylar Hanson, said the platform will be adaptable for use in numerous counter-drone scenarios, but will be commonly deployed to protect bases from increasingly sophisticated UAV attack capabilities.

“As the danger from drone swarms evolves, all services are working closely to ensure emerging technologies like Mjölnir will be ready to support the needs of warfighters already engaged against these threats,” Hanson said.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading DroneDJ — experts who break news about DJI and the wider drone ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow DroneDJ on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Comments

Author

Avatar for Bruce Crumley Bruce Crumley

Bruce Crumley is journalist and writer who has worked for Fortune, Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, The Guardian, AFP, and was Paris correspondent and bureau chief for Time magazine specializing in political and terrorism reporting. He splits his time between Paris and Biarritz, and is the author of novel Maika‘i Stink Eye.