U.S. Counter-Drone Office Tests APKWS Laser-Guided Kits

The U.S. Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO) has tested BAE Systems’ APKWS laser-guidance kits in a counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) mission.

The testing against Class-2 UAS paves the way for fielding of the precision-guided rockets.

APKWS transforms unguided rockets into smart munitions for precision strikes on soft and lightly armored targets. A newly developed proximity fuze for the standard M151 warhead allows the laser-guidance kits to target Class 2 and Class 3 drones, which typically weigh less than 55 pounds. The fuze retains the legacy point denotation capability for maximum flexibility of the weapon in the field. APKWS now enables rockets to engage and destroy drones at a fraction of the cost of existing C-UAS systems with unprecedented precision.

During the Department of Defense-led exercise at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, the 70 mm APKWS-guided rockets demonstrated 100 percent effectiveness when fired against 25 to 50 pound drones traveling at more than 100 miles an hour. The APKWS C-UAS solution is platform agnostic, permitting multiple options to accelerate fielding.

Aimee D’Onofrio, a director of Precision Guidance and Sensing Solutions at BAE Systems, said the company can ramp up production of APKWS to 25,000 units per year.

APKWS laser-guidance kits are produced at BAE Systems’ state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Hudson, New Hampshire. The kits are available to all U.S. armed forces, as well as allies via Foreign Military Sales.