Raytheon Wins $729 Million Counter-Drone Contract
The award covers LIDS components for the U.S. Army, Qatar, and Jordan, marking the first international sales of two key Raytheon systems.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Terrorism
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Raytheon has been awarded a $729 million contract to deliver critical components of its LIDS counter-drone system to the U.S. Army, Qatar, and Jordan. The deal includes the first international sales of Raytheon's Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor and Coyote effector.
Why it matters
The contract expands global access to counter-drone technology as unmanned threats grow more common across military and security operations. It also signals rising international demand for layered defenses capable of tracking and intercepting individual drones and drone swarms.
The $729 million contract covers LIDS components including the Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor, which provides 360-degree threat detection, and the Coyote effector, which has achieved hundreds of combat intercepts. The contract includes both fixed-site and mobile LIDS configurations.
The players
Raytheon
Raytheon is a major U.S. defense contractor and a business unit of RTX, known for missile defense and sensor systems.
RTX
RTX is a large American aerospace and defense company formed from the merger of Raytheon and United Technologies, and is investing to expand Coyote production.
The details
The contract supplies critical components of the Low, Slow and Small-Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System, known as LIDS. Coyote uses low-cost kinetic and non-kinetic effectors to defeat drones, and upgrades include faster launch times, higher speeds, and greater range at higher altitudes.
Timeline
November 2, 2026: Raytheon announced the contract award in a press release.
The Tech Race
The sale of Coyote and KuRFS abroad places Raytheon's interceptor line in direct competition with other counter-drone systems being fielded by allied militaries. Coyote's hundreds of combat intercepts give the system a proven track record that rival defense firms will need to match in export bids.
Counter-drone systems like LIDS are designed to protect fixed sites and mobile units from unmanned threats. The expansion of these systems to Qatar and Jordan means allied forces in those countries will gain protection against drone attacks on critical installations.
The takeaway
Drone threats are now a standard planning concern for militaries and security agencies worldwide. Systems that combine detection and low-cost interception are becoming central to how governments protect infrastructure and personnel.
Further reading
For more on the threats these systems are built to counter, see our Terrorism coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Evertiq.
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