L3Harris Technologies has begun delivering Vehicle Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment (VAMPIRE) counter-unmanned aerial system supplies to the US Army under a contract valued at up to $106 million.
Initial shipments of the weapon arrived within two months of the order, supporting the military’s layered air defense network against hostile drones.
The VAMPIRE is a portable, low-cost platform designed for rapid deployment on light tactical trucks and non-tactical vehicles.
The self-contained unit pairs a telescopic mast with electro-optical sensors and laser-guided rockets to conduct reconnaissance and precision strikes against targets.
Since its induction, the technology has logged over 350,000 operational hours in European combat settings since its 2023 battlefield debut in Ukraine.
It has also been expanded to maritime, aerial, and electronic warfare variants, while opening a dedicated production facility in Huntsville, Alabama, to scale manufacturing.
“From day one, our team has worked side-by-side with the Army to rapidly field VAMPIRE systems,” said Chris Aebli, president of communications and spectrum dominance at L3Harris.
“US armed forces are now equipped to reliably defend personnel and vital assets against drone threats.”
Recent Milestones
The announcement follows Washington’s decision in early September to distribute an unspecified number of VAMPIREs in support of the US Navy’s littoral anti-drone missions.
The same month, L3Harris revealed that the weapon adopted an advanced artificial intelligence capability with computer vision to enhance the electro-optical/infrared capture of threat positions while concealing the user’s location.
