Liteye Systems Inc., a supplier of Counter Unmanned Systems to the U.S. Department of Defense, participated in the U.S. Army’s MFIX (Manoeuvre and Fires Integration Exercise) event at Ft. Sill, OK, this November.
Together with Northrop Grumman’s M230LF, 30 x 113mm Bushmaster Chain Gun; Liteye’s counter UAS Defense System (known as AUDS), integrated on a Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV), demonstrated an effective solution to counter any Unmanned Air, Ground or Surface threat.
During MFIX, the integrated system demonstrated a passive RF surveillance and self-protect capability to support CUAS while on the move. This capability is an added improvement to the mature detect, track, identify and defeat capabilities found in the current AUDS configuration. Additionally, Liteye worked with Northrop Grumman to integrate with the Army’s Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD C2) network for Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD). These improvements support a fully networked and mobile Counter-UAS kill chain to defeat Class 1 and Class 2 UAS through non-lethal and lethal measures with the AUDS and the Bushmaster cannons.
Liteye Vice President of Business Development, Ryan Hurt, shared how recent improvements to the system allowed a network integrated AUDS to detect, track, identify and defeat UAV’s in different operational environments.
“While on the move, our system integrates a passive RF surveillance capability and omni-directional electronic jam to break contact with a UAS threat. While at the halt, AUDS provides active detection, tracking, identification and a decisive directional electronic defeat of Unmanned Air, Ground and Surface Vehicles,” Hurt explained. “The system can be operated from both fixed locations and mobile platforms. In either case, the operator maintains control over weapon system assignment and that could include the XM914 30mm Bushmaster Chain Gun.”
Northrop Grumman’s M230LF, is a link fed version of the M230 Bushmaster Chain Gun integrated on the U.S. Army’s Apache attack helicopter. During MFIX, the M230 and AUDS systems also demonstrated how it provides operational overmatch through defeating a UAS ground control station identified by AUDS during an engagement scenario. The M230LF also provides the system a future capability improvement path to incorporate advanced ammunition types that Northrop Grumman is developing.
Source: Press Release