The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Qatar of the Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System (FS-LIDS) System of Systems and related equipment for an estimated cost of $1 billion. The proposed sale will improve Qatar’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing electronic and kinetic defeat capabilities against Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Qatar will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and/or services into its armed forces. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.
The Government of Qatar has requested to buy ten (10) Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System (FS-LIDS) System of Systems, to include: two hundred (200) Coyote Block 2 interceptors. Also included is the Counter Unmanned Electronic Warfare System (CUAEWS); Coyote launchers; Ku Band Multi-function Radio Frequency System (KuMRFS) radars; Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD C2); Counter Unmanned Electronic Warfare Systems (CUAEWS); EO/IR cameras; support and test equipment. The principal contractors will be Raytheon, Huntsville AL; SRC, Huntsville, AL; and Northrop Grumman, Huntsville, AL.
SRC Technology’s AN/TPQ-50 air surveillance radar, counter-sUAS EW system and electro-optic / infrared camera. (Photo by SRC)
The proliferation of weaponised, commercial off-the-shelf drones pose a threat to the US military troops and bases. In January 2020, the US Army-led Joint Counter Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Office has selected Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System (FS-LIDS) as the interim counter-sUAS solution for the US military. The FS-LIDS solution is equipped with SRC Technology’s AN/TPQ-50 air surveillance radar, counter-sUAS EW system and electro-optic/infrared camera. For kinetic defeat, FS-LIDS employs a Ku Band Multifunction Radio Frequency System Radar and the Raytheon-built Coyote Block 2 Interceptor.
The Coyote is a small, expendable and tube-launched UAS, which can be used either individually or as part of drone swarms to carry out missions such as electronic warfare, surveillance and strike. Powered by a jet engine, the Coyote Block 2 can neutralise threats at longer ranges and higher altitudes than similar effectors in its class. It can act efficiently against small UAS or Group 1-3 UAS threats. The system can operate for about an hour and carry interchangeable payloads. It can handle higher accelerations during launch and provides capabilities such as improved surveillance imagery and increased targeting capability.
The Coyote Block 2 counter-drone weapon and KuRFS radar worked together to detect and engage a target in a test over the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. (Photo: U.S. Army)
