Coyote Block 3NK Redefines Drone Defense

When Drone Swarms Become the Defining Threat

Adversaries are now deploying cheap, commercially available drones in swarms to threaten, spy on, and attack military forces. Defeating these drone swarm attacks with conventional kinetic interceptors creates a serious cost problem: the defense consistently costs far more than the attack. Military planners urgently need a counter-UAS solution that is effective, affordable, and capable of sustaining repeated engagements against swarm-scale threats without draining critical munitions stockpiles.

What Coyote Block 3NK Actually Is

Coyote Block 3NK is a recoverable non-kinetic counter-UAS system developed by Raytheon, an RTX business, that addresses the drone swarm problem differently from conventional interceptors. Rather than using explosive warheads, the Coyote Block 3NK uses a non-kinetic payload, an invisible method of attack that defeats drone swarms without physical contact or explosions. This non-kinetic effector approach delivers two key advantages: it minimizes collateral damage risk, and it provides a cost-effective way to clear airspace of the small, inexpensive drones that kinetic interceptors are too expensive to engage at scale.

A Recoverable Interceptor That Comes Back

What makes the Coyote Block 3NK counter-UAS system genuinely different is that it is not expended in the engagement. After defeating drone swarms using its non-kinetic payload, the recoverable interceptor can be recalled by operators and redeployed for additional counter-UAS engagements. This recoverable design changes the economics of drone swarm defense entirely, allowing military units to sustain high engagement rates without depleting their inventory of more expensive munitions. Raytheon demonstrated this full cycle during a U.S. Army exercise, where the Coyote Block 3NK proved its launch, flight, intercept, and recovery capabilities against multiple drone swarms in a single engagement.

Integrated Into the Army's Counter-UAS Architecture

The Coyote Block 3NK counter-UAS system operates within the U.S. Army's Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System, known as LIDS, a layered counter-drone defense architecture designed to protect forces from drone swarm threats. It pairs with Raytheon's Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor, KuRFS, a radar that uses active electronically scanned array technology to detect and track small aerial targets with highly precise sensing and fire control, cueing the Coyote Block 3NK for engagement. Together, the KuRFS radar and Coyote Block 3NK form a complete detect-and-defeat counter-UAS solution. Raytheon was recently awarded its largest counter-drone contract ever under the LIDS program, reflecting growing global demand for proven and affordable counter-UAS systems.

Built to Keep Pace with Evolving Drone Threats

Raytheon has invested significantly in Coyote Block 3NK performance enhancements to ensure the counter-UAS system keeps pace with next-generation drone threats. These upgrades enable faster launches, higher speeds, and greater engagement range at higher altitudes, allowing the Coyote Block 3NK and the broader Coyote counter-drone family to defeat unmanned aircraft systems carrying heavier payloads over longer distances.