SRC Gets $426M US Army C-UAS Contract

SRC Inc., North Syracuse, New York, was awarded a $425,870,432 hybrid (cost-no-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price) contract for development, production, deployment and support of the Expeditionary-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System (E-LIDS).

Bids were solicited via the internet with one received.  Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 26, 2025.

U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-20-D-0032).

SRC has special expertise in counter-UAV systems, and offers the Silent Archer counter-UAS system, which detects, tracks, classifies, identifies, and disrupts low, slow, and small unmanned airborne threats, commonly referred to as drones.

SRC’s Silent Archer combines radar and electronic warfare (EW) systems, a camera, and a 3-D user display to defeat hostile drones operating singly or in pairs, as well as in swarms.

Silent Archer first provides spatial, frequency, and optical surveillance capabilities to detect, track, classify and identify the airborne threat, and then applies low-cost electronic methods to disrupt the UAS, such as jamming the communications links between the operator and the aircraft, SRC officials say.

SRC’s counter-UAV system is for force protection in contested environments; critical infrastructure protection; security for VIPs and high profile events; and urban environment surveillance.

SRC experts have demonstrated the Silent Archer anti-drone system at U.S. government-sponsored counter-UAS test events like the Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization (JIAMDO) Black Dart counter-drone exercise at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.; the Army Warfighting Assessment (AWA) technology assessments; Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) events; and Maneuvers and Fires Integrated Exercise (MFIX) experiments at Fort Benning, Ga., SRC officials say.

Silent Archer comes in three different configurations: expeditionary for use on tactical combat vehicles; fixed site for use at permanent installations; and fly-away kit for quick-deployment use at overseas military operations.

The system’s open architecture and sensor-agnostic design supports offers capabilities in direction finding; line-of-bearing information; and wireless networking for communicating among systems and command-and-control centers.

Sources: DoD; Military & Aerospace Electronics