Australian defense firm Electro Optic Systems (EOS) is sending 10 Slinger air defense systems to Ukraine to help combat Russia’s kamikaze drones.
The lightweight weapon can reportedly take down hostile unmanned aerial vehicles at a distance of more than 800 meters (2,624 feet).
It can be mounted on standard vehicles, such as pickup trucks, to provide the needed mobility to dismounted Ukrainian soldiers.
Additionally, the “drone killer” promotes ease of use for first-time users as it can be operated with a simple joystick and a screen.
“It’s very quick and easy to learn,” EOS test engineer Charlotte Capper told ABC News. “You don’t have to know much about the technology. It’s easy to see what each thing does and how it does it.”
Ukraine is expected to receive the counter-drone systems by the end of this year.
‘Hitting at Low-Cost’
According to EOS, the Slinger leverages a tracking radar and a 30-millimeter Bushmaster M230LF stabilized cannon to perform a precise “hard kill.”
But most importantly, the system is designed to support low-cost operations, eliminating the need for more sophisticated and pricey anti-drone weapons.
A single engagement using the Slinger air defense system would only cost Ukraine between $100 and $1,000.
“Sometimes, those missiles cost millions,” Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko told the outlet. “And you hit the drones, which cost $20,000, right? And it’s all about the cost.”
A unit of the weapon can be bought for less than 1.55 million Australian dollars ($986,000).