Raytheon to build microwave antenna system to defeat airborne threats
Deliveries of the systems will be expected in FY2024 and FY2026. (Photo: Raytheon)
Raytheon will build two systems for the US Navy and US Air Force as part of the DARPA Directed Energy Front-line Electromagnetic Neutralization and Defeat (DEFEND) programme.
Raytheon, an RTX business, will design, build and test two high-power microwave (HPM) antenna systems that will use directed energy to defeat airborne threats at the speed of light. The systems will be designed to be rugged and transportable for front-line deployment.
Under the three-year, US$31.3 million contract from the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, Raytheon will deliver prototype systems to the US Navy (USN) and US Air Force (USAF) as part of the DEFEND programme.
Colin Whelan, president of Raytheon Advanced Technology, said: ‘The new iterations of Raytheon’s high-power microwave systems are cost-effective and reliable solutions that operate at the speed of light – [providing better defence] against faster and more manoeuvrable threats.’
Work will be conducted in coordination with the USAF Research Lab, USN Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering.
The new HPM prototype systems build on Raytheon’s decades of experience developing capabilities such as the Counter-Electronic High Power Microwave Extended Range Air Base Defense, known as CHIMERA.
Prototypes will be expected to be delivered in FY2024 and FY2026.
More from Land Warfare
-
![Eurosatory 2026 roundup: uncrewed, counter-uncrewed and new vehicles define direction]()
Eurosatory 2026 roundup: uncrewed, counter-uncrewed and new vehicles define direction
Uncrewed and counter-uncrewed systems were a major feature of this edition of Eurosatory 2026 along with programme updates and first sight of new main battle tanks.
-
![Eurosatory 2026: As MGCS stalls, has Europe’s new MBT been unveiled?]()
Eurosatory 2026: As MGCS stalls, has Europe’s new MBT been unveiled?
Eurosatory 2026 saw a number of main battle tanks on display, including two new platforms which could be the future of European tanks.
-
![Eurosatory 2026: Pearson Engineering to send AI mine detecting systems into Ukraine]()
Eurosatory 2026: Pearson Engineering to send AI mine detecting systems into Ukraine
Pearson Engineering’s Threat-Sense system is designed to use imaging from drones to geolocate scattered mines and support uncrewed systems in defeating the threats.
-
![Is motorisation set to be the next evolution of towed artillery?]()
Is motorisation set to be the next evolution of towed artillery?
Artillery remains a key tool on the modern battlefield. Artillery platforms, however, are increasingly at risk from enemy fire, whether from other artillery or uncrewed …
-
![Eurosatory 2026: Milrem expands partnerships as it outlines NATO eastern flank defence plans]()
Eurosatory 2026: Milrem expands partnerships as it outlines NATO eastern flank defence plans
In the past three months Milrem Robotics has signed cooperation agreements with Hanwha, EOS Defence Systems and Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) and at Eurosatory 2026 with CNIM Systèmes Industriels and Frankenburg Technologies. The deals come as the company develops its Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative.
