Missile kit lets fighter jets down drones on the cheap

Shooting down a drone with a fighter jet is as cost effective as wrapping sandwiches in gold foil, but BAE Systems has cut the price by firing an economy anti-drone Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) missile from a Typhoon Eurofighter.

In only a couple of decades drones have become a major player in military circles, as evidenced by the headlines they've made in recent conflicts. As a result, the inevitable arms race is now underway to find the means to counter drones of all sizes as they increase in numbers and sophistication.

Just as drones are not invincible there is no single panacea to drone attacks. Instead, layered defenses are evolving where hostile drones that survive one layer can be picked off by subsequent ones.

Part of this approach is to turn to existing platforms – even ones designed for very different missions and threats.

Unfortunately, cost does have to be factored in somewhere along the way – and in the international climate where nations are scrambling to build up munition stockpiles – and fast – cost gets factored in pretty early.

A 4.5-Generation Eurofighter, for example, can shoot down a medium to large sized drone, but the bill will be somewhat on the high side. If it uses an air-to-air AIM-9X Sidewinder missile, it will almost certainly get the job done, however, it will be at a cost of over US$500,000 per shot. In which case, it would probably be cheaper to ring up the enemy commander and offer to buy the drone outright.

BAE Systems' alternative is its APKWS kit that converts a 70-mm unguided rocket into a precision-guided missile thanks to its Distributed Aperture Semi-Active Laser Seeker (DASALS) technology, which places four seeker optical sensors on the leading edges of four deployable wings.

Cool, but so what? Aside from an accuracy of 80% within a 2-m (6.6-ft) laser target spot, the "so what" is that by putting the sensors on the wings there's no need for a nose-mounted seeker, simplifying the conversion and allowing the rocket to retain its original standard warhead and fuse. That translates into significantly reduced costs.

The recent test of the APKWS took place using an RAF Typhoon at the flight test development center in Warton, Lancashire, England, where the test and evaluation aircraft engaged ground targets. The purpose of the test was to show that the system could be successfully integrated with the Typhoon. By doing so, the fighter has the option of spending only about US$25,000 per shot as opposed to half a million.

That may not seem very cheap if compared to the housekeeping budget, but in military terms that's positively bargain basement.

"As the UK’s sovereign provider of combat air capability, we play a crucial role in supporting the UK armed forces - working closely with the Ministry of Defence to develop technologies that strengthen our national defense capabilities," said Richard Hamilton, Managing Director at Air Operations at BAE Systems’ Air sector. "This trial with the APKWS laser-guidance kit on Typhoon demonstrates a game-changing capability and a cost-effective solution that would enhance Typhoon’s already impressive range of weapons capabilities."

Source: BAE Systems