Military News
Footage shows the Raytheon Coyote 2 Interceptor in action as it performs amazing drone on drone hits during a test firing event. Several target drones were destroyed during the live fire exercise and the video footage that came out from it is just awesome. The Raytheon Coyote is a small, expendable, unmanned aircraft system built by the Raytheon Company, with the capability of operating in autonomous swarms. It is launched from a sonobuoy canister with the wings deploying in early flight phase. The system can operate up to one hour and is designed for interchangeable payloads. It is used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for hurricane tracking, and is being assessed by the United States Air Force and Army as an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance asset, as well as for delivering kinetic payloads. The Block 2 Coyotes have a much more missile-like configuration and feature four maneuverable control surfaces in their tail sections.
A rocket motor gives these newer Coyotes their initial thrust, after which a small jet turbine takes over. This particular propulsion and control scheme is said to give the Coyote 2s a “dogfight-type of capability” according to Raytheon, making it capable of engaging highly maneuverable targets. A Raytheon spokesperson told The War Zone that the Block 3 Coyotes, meanwhile, feature a more traditional UAV design with wings similar to the original Coyote Block 1. On 28 February 2021, Raytheon received a contract from the U.S. Navy for the Coyote Block 3 to provide an ISR and strike capability when launched from unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). Raytheon announced in August 2021 that a demonstration of the Block 3 in an air intercept test had used a non-kinetic warhead to defeat a swarm of 10 drones. This type of payload reduces potential collateral damage and enables the variant to be recovered and reused.
Credit
WarLeaks – Military Blog
