The United States Navy announced that they plan to experimentally deploy two Army anti-drone systems on Navy ships at the end of this summer. This decision comes after launching over 200 missiles in the past 15 months in a battle against Houthi militants, including 120 Standard-2 (SM-2) missiles, along with hundreds of shells, with each Standard-2 missile costing around $2 million, making the cost quite high.
The Navy plans to deploy the Coyote UAV and Roadrunner-M anti-drone interception system on escort destroyers in the Ford-class carrier strike group for experimental deployments. Both of these systems are jet-powered unmanned aircraft interceptors that have already been extensively validated on land.
** The Layered Air Defense Configuration of US Navy Ships
At the Navy Surface Ships Conference on January 14, 2025, Vice Admiral Brendan McClain, commander of the Navy Surface Force, revealed that during the 15-month air defense operation in the Red Sea, surface ships deployed approximately 400 various types of ammunition. This included 120 Standard-2 ship-to-air missiles, 80 Standard-6 ship-to-air missiles, 20 Standard-3 anti-missile missiles, Evolved Seasparrow Missiles (ESSM), and over 160 127mm shells fired by Mk45 cannons.
The usage of air defense ammunition as disclosed by Vice Admiral McClain reflects the current layered air defense configuration of US Navy ships. The Standard-2, used for medium-range air interception, is a cornerstone of the Navy’s ship-to-air missile arsenal and has been involved in most air interception missions, with a range exceeding 160 kilometers and an altitude of about 19.8 kilometers. The Standard-6 provides mid-range air defense capabilities beyond the Standard-2, including anti-ship, ground attack, and terminal anti-missile capabilities. The Standard-3 missile, with mid-range anti-missile capabilities, was used in April 2024 to intercept ballistic missiles launched by Iran towards Israel. The ESSM is widely used for ship-borne close to medium-range air defense to counter incoming anti-ship weapons. The Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a close-range, low-altitude shipborne air defense missile system, also known as a rolling body ship-to-air missile, serving as one of the last lines of defense for warships. In addition, cruisers and destroyers’ Mk45 127mm main guns are typically used for targeting both surface and land targets, but they also have limited anti-aircraft capabilities.
However, these air defense missiles come at a high price, with the latest version of the Standard-2 missile costing around $2.5 million per unit, Standard-6 missile priced at $4.27 million per unit, and the purchase price of the second batch of ESSM missiles at approximately $1.49 million per unit. It is economically impractical to intercept drones that cost only tens of thousands of dollars with million-dollar air defense missiles. Therefore, the Navy is looking for more cost-effective and deployable anti-drone systems.
** US Army Prepares Various Anti-Drone Systems
Apart from using small-caliber machine guns and air defense missiles to counter drones, the US Army emphasizes using drones to combat drones. The first system procured was the Coyote anti-drone system, followed by the acquisition of the Roadrunner-M interception system. These systems can operate ahead with frontline units, perform reconnaissance, surveillance, electronic warfare, and can even be recovered for reuse.
The Coyote anti-drone system, developed by Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX), is a loiter attack munition. This compact unmanned aircraft can be launched from vehicles, ships, or helicopters, serving not only as a loitering munition to strike enemy targets but also as an interceptor for drones, showcasing its versatility.
In December 2023, the US Army decided to purchase 6,700 Coyote systems, including 6,000 Block II unmanned drones and 700 Block III drones equipped with advanced sensors. It was reported that the cost of a single Block II Coyote is around $100,000, making it a highly cost-effective weapon system.
The Block II Coyote utilizes rocket booster-assisted and jet engine propulsion, reaching a flight speed of 555 km/h with a range of 15 kilometers, fitted with a high-explosive warhead that can be used for precision strikes on enemy ground targets while having anti-drone capabilities. The Coyote system can intercept multiple airborne targets, demonstrating its saturation attack capability against drones. In Army tests, the guidance system of the Coyote can detect surrounding airborne dynamics across 360 degrees and conduct separate detection, tracking, and positioning of individual drones, showcasing excellent performance.
In November 2024, US Army officials disclosed that the Coyote system had been deployed in 36 locations outside the central command, Africa command, and European command regions, successfully neutralizing around 170 drones.
On October 8, 2024, the US Department of Defense awarded a $250 million contract to Anduril Industries to purchase 500 sets of reusable Roadrunner-M interceptors and portable pulse-star electronic warfare equipment to defend against drone attacks targeting US military forces.
The Roadrunner-M is an intelligent air defense drone system capable of vertical takeoff and landing, featuring high subsonic speed, extreme maneuverability, modular effective payloads, and continuous software upgrade capabilities. It can perform ground attack missions while targeting approaching missiles, shells, drones, helicopters, and combat aircraft for interception. With Anduril’s AI control system, it can autonomously complete tasks like launch, flight, target searching, and landing.
It is currently unclear how the Burke-class destroyers will integrate the Coyote or Roadrunner-M anti-drone systems specifically, including whether they will be integrated with the Aegis combat system on these ships.