Kongsberg is adding Echodyne’s Metamaterials Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar to its Protector RS4 and RS6 remote weapon stations to improve their ability to detect and track drones.
Echodyne said Kongsberg selected its platform for a range of air and surface applications, with the Protector integrations among the first use cases.
The system provides range, range rate, bearing, and other kinematic data that can help optical sensors maintain a target track and support a firing solution.
For missions involving unmanned systems, that can address a specific limitation of optical sensors. Cameras can provide detailed imagery for identifying a target, but radar can track objects at greater distances and provide continuous measurements needed to support a weapon system.
Echodyne said the radar can also provide data for systems using programmable airburst ammunition, where accurate range and range rate measurements are important for determining when a round should detonate.
“Integrating MESA radar gives the Protector family the precise, stable, and persistent tracks needed to cue the fire-control system, sustain target lock and act decisively against fast-moving, low-signature drone threats,” Echodyne CEO Eben Frankenberg said.
Echodyne’s MESA Radar
MESA is Echodyne’s radar architecture designed to deliver electronically scanned radar capabilities in a smaller package. Unlike mechanically steered radar, electronically scanned arrays can direct their beams electronically without physically moving the antenna.
Echodyne uses the system across several radar products, including EchoShield, EchoGuard, and EchoFlight. The products are used for counter drone defense, force protection, airspace surveillance, and airborne platforms.
In May, Echodyne and Moog demonstrated a MESA-equipped Reconfigurable Integrated Weapon Platform during a US Army exercise in Texas. The system used an EchoShield radar with Moog’s weapon platform and AI targeting system.
In April, Trust Automation selected Echodyne’s EchoShield as the primary radar for its Small Unmanned Air Defense System. The system is being delivered to the US Air Force under a $490-million contract.
Echodyne has also worked with Northrop Grumman on counter-drone systems.
