The systems drone interceptors They are an increasingly important part of the arsenals of armies and a good example of their impact is represented by Coyote. This drone, designed by the manufacturer Raytheonhas been deployed by the United States Army in 36 sites outside of America and has managed to carry out 170 aerial threat killsmilitary officials have revealed to The War Zone.
The information emerged during the Falcon Peak 2025 held last week, a demonstration of the US Army’s anti-drone capabilities held at the Peterson Space Force Basein Colorado. ‘We are in the region of CENTCOM, AFRICOM and EUCOM. While we’re there with the Coyotes, we have achieved 170 successful takedowns in all those regions‘, the senior Army officer explained to the media Alyssa Tallmadgeof the service’s Space and Missile Program Executive Office, referring to top U.S. military commanders. in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
Tallmadge did not break down what the Coyote shootdowns were or where they occurred. It is known, for example, that the Coyotes were among the defensive capabilities deployed to protect the temporary port the United States operated earlier this year in the Gaza Strip to facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid.
This is the C-UAS Coyote
The Coyote is a C-UASinitials in English of Countermeasures Against Unmanned Aerial Systems, which has the ability to operate in autonomous swarms and whose objective is to intercept other unmanned aerial vehicles. Its development began in the American company Advanced Ceramic Research in the first decade of this century and was introduced in 2014. Raytheon acquired the company in 2015 and has since produced several versions.
The main ones are those known as Block 2powered by a jet engine and using a high-explosion warhead to destroy targets, and Block 3based on the original electric motor-driven propeller design and carrying unspecified ‘non-kinetic’ payloads that could include electronic warfare systems.
The Coyote is cheap to produce thanks to the use of commercially available components. In 2021, Raytheon announced that a Coyote Block 3 had used a non-kinetic warhead to defeat a swarm of 10 drones in an air intercept test. This type of payload reduces potential collateral damage and allows the variant to be recovered and reused.
At the end of last year, the United States’ intention to acquire more Coyote drones from Raytheon became known: 6,000 of the Block 2 type and 700 of the Block 3 type.
The Coyote measures 60cm long and 14 wide and is fired from a pneumatic box launcher with a maximum speed of 130km/h. Weight 5.9kg and offers a kinetic effect when crashing into enemy drones or exploding near them, dispersing the explosion fragments of its warhead. 1.8kg. Its autonomy is one hour and its capacity for interchangeable payloads also allows it to be used in missions of ISRacronym in English for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. According to Raytheon, the Coyote has greater range and reaches higher altitudes than other similar proposals.
This interceptor is part of a larger US Army system known as LIDSacronym in English for Integrated Slow and Low Unmanned Aircraft Defeat System. This includes mobile (M-LIDS) and fixed-site (FS-LIDS) components.
M-LIDS includes mine resistant vehicle configurations M-ATV 4×4some armed with Coyotes and autocannons 30mm XM914as well as with radars and other sensors. The United States is currently seeking a new M-LIDS platform that integrates all existing capabilities into a light armored vehicle. Stryker 8×8. FS-LIDS also includes Coyotes launchers on various platforms.