The development and intensive use of drones in ukrainian war has led armies around the world to update their defenses against these types of weapons. He United States Army It already has a variety of interceptors, but they are usually much more expensive weapons than the drones against which they can be launched. The interest is to ensure that they are economical and easy to produce; and that’s where the missile comes in Freedom Eagle-1 (FE-1) of AeroVironment. The US Army has selected it to reinforce air defense against long-range attack drones and other unmanned aerial systems (UAS)medium sizein addition to other air threats, including supersonic cruise missiles in certain circumstances.
AeroVironment has announced that the FE-1 has been the winning design of the program NGCM (Next-Generation Counter-UAS Missile). The company has received a contract valued at 95.9 million dollars within the associated program LRKI (Long-Range Kinetic Interceptor).
Raytheon was also competing for this contract with a version of its interceptor Coyotealready in service in the Army. AeroVironment, for its part, had been working on the integration of the FE-1 into the system LIDS (Low, Slow, Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System), which currently uses the Coyote as the primary interceptor.
The FE-1 measures between 1.5 and 1.8 meters long, has 15cm diameter and made his first flight in January 2025. Its development dates back to at least 2023 and began in the company BlueHaloacquired by AeroVironment in May 2025.
According to the company, the FE-1 is a low cost, high performance solution to neutralize drones of groups 2 and 3, although it has also demonstrated some capacity against those of group 1. It has already passed several development phases, including flight tests, tests of the double-impulse rocket motor and detonations of the warhead.
Designed against drones like Russia’s Shahed-136
The US Army classifies drones into five groups. Groups 2 and 3 include devices between 9.5 and 600 kgwhich fly at heights of up to 5,500 m and they reach maximum speeds of 460 km/h. Group 1 comprises smaller drones.
He Shahed-136of Iranian design and widely used by Russia in Ukraine, is the most representative example of a group 3 drone. Its proliferation has driven the development of the FE-1.
As explained Daniel Nolanddirector of strategic development of AeroVironmentAccording to The War Zone, the design of the FE-1 is directly driven by the threat these drones pose. The NGCM seeks to fill the gap between short-range air defense (SHORAD) and subsonic cruise missiles.
The FE-1 incorporates a solid fuel rocket motorwhich gives it a superior range and altitude to current interceptors powered by small jet engines, such as the Coyote. The missile first receives the target designation by ground radar and then it goes to its own radio frequency finder.
The warhead, of fragmentation and explosion, weighs 9 kilograms. AeroVironment opted for this solution instead of a hit-to-kill system for reasons of cost and versatility.
Noland highlights that the FE-1 is compatible with different radars, not just the expensive system KuRFS from Raytheon, and that can be integrated into architectures such as FS-LIDS (the fixed site version of the system), FAAD C2 (Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control) or IBCS (Integrated Battle Command System, which coordinates Army anti-aircraft sensors and weapons.
The objective is that the unit cost of FE-1 is between 150,000 and 200,000 dollarscheaper than other missiles like the stinger (between $100,000 and $400,000 depending on version) or the AIM-9X Sidewinder (about $500,000), and well below the millions that an interceptor of the system costs Patriot.
By comparison, Shahed-type drones cost tens of thousands of dollarsso the FE-1 searches offer a proportional and affordable response.
The NGCM program is part of the Army’s effort to expand its air defense with low-cost solutions and relieve pressure on its batteries Patriot. The integration of FE-1 into the LIDS system could also open the door to its use by the US Navy or even to air-dropped versions.