MBDA, participating in Farnborough International Airshow 2024, is showcasing a new effector concept for its Sky Warden counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) modular solution.

The new effector concept on the show is a ground-launched anti-air munition targeting threats that include Class 1 and Class 2 small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS) and Loitering Munitions. Collaborating with Fortem Technologies and utilizing their DroneHunter® technology, the concept enables the rapid incorporation of a warhead on a drone to defeat threats at a lower cost. 

According to the company, tests of the munition have proved its effectiveness and lethality.  The company will also draw on its recent successful operational demonstration, where MBDA’s flagship C-UAS solution demonstrated its capabilities to 17 customer delegations.

These recent customer demonstrations saw Sky Warden faced with a wide range of drone threats – with varying kinetic characteristics and in realistic operational scenarios – neutralizing them all. 

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to assist its human operators in identifying and classifying the different threats from its full set of sensors (radar, passive RF, electro-optical cameras, etc.), Sky Warden automatically assigned the threat to the most appropriate and available effector maximizing the efficiency. 

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In the threat scenarios Sky Warden faced, it blocked attacking drones with jammers, captured them with hunter drones, neutralized them in rapid sequence by laser, and destroyed a ‘shahed-like’ drone with a Mistral 3 missile at a very long distance.

With the tests of its new effector concept and the recent demonstration in Italy, MBDA sees an RF-guided drone-style effector with a directional fragmentation warhead complementing the effects that Sky Warden already provides, giving customers more options to adapt it to their preferred needs.

Sky Warden is a scalable system that can effectively neutralize any form of threat, from tactical drones to reconnaissance mini-drones, as well as other traditional threats. The system manages the full C-UAS kill chain from detection to neutralization and is designed to operate both as an integrated component in a layered air defence architecture, or in a standalone configuration. 

Whether vehicle mounted or dismounted, using a networked eco-system of constantly evolving sensors and effectors, Sky Warden matches the UAS threat and its evolutions in accordance with the user’s specific requirements.

Also read: EUROSATORY 2022 | MBDA unveils the Sky Warden C-UAS with full sensors and weapons suite – VIDEO & Photos