Raytheon wins $729 million to arm three countries against drones

The global race to stop hostile drones is turning into big business for defense contractors. Raytheon, an RTX company, has secured $729 million in contracts to supply components of its counter-drone system to the US Army, Qatar, and Jordan, marking the first international sales of two key technologies used in the system.

The deals cover Raytheon’s Low, slow, small, uncrewed aircraft Integrated Defeat System, better known as LIDS. The system combines radar and other detection technologies with interceptors designed to take down hostile drones before they can threaten military personnel, installations, or other critical assets.

At the heart of the system are two products: the Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor (KuRFS) and the Coyote interceptor. While KuRFS helps detect and track incoming threats across a 360-degree field of view, Coyote is designed to engage individual drones as well as coordinated swarms.

The Coyote family includes kinetic and non-kinetic effectors, giving military operators different ways to counter aerial threats. Raytheon says the system’s interceptors have already achieved hundreds of intercepts in combat, providing an operational track record as militaries look for more effective ways to defend against increasingly common drone attacks.

The new contracts include both fixed-site and mobile LIDS configurations, allowing customers to deploy counter-drone defenses in different operational environments.

What’s particularly notable about the deal is the international expansion of KuRFS and Coyote. Both technologies have been key elements of the US Army’s LIDS program, but these contracts represent their first international sales. The agreements could help Raytheon expand its footprint in a market where demand for counter-drone capabilities is growing.

To keep pace, RTX is investing in expanded manufacturing capacity and upgrades to its Coyote interceptors. Planned improvements include faster launch times, higher speeds, and greater operating range at higher altitudes — capabilities intended to help the interceptors respond to evolving drone threats.

That production push matters as well. Counter-drone systems must be able to handle more than occasional incursions, particularly when adversaries deploy multiple low-cost drones in coordinated attacks. Scaling production while improving interceptor performance could help Raytheon meet growing demand from the US and international customers.

For Raytheon, the $729 million award is more than a major contract win. It signals a growing international market for systems designed to detect, track, and defeat drones, with the company now working to scale a combat-tested solution for a wider customer base.

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