Coyote

Coyote overview

The Coyote is a small, tube-launched expendable UAS developed by Raytheon Intelligence & Space (now RTX) for the U.S. Army and Navy. Originally designed as a low-cost aerial target for radar and missile system training, the Coyote evolved into a frontline counter-UAS weapon following field experience with small drone threats in Iraq, Syria, and beyond. The Block 1 version served as a sensor platform and decoy; Block 2 introduced a proximity-fuze kinetic warhead capable of defeating small UAS at engagement costs far below those of conventional missiles. Block 3 added directed energy and electronic warfare payload options, broadening its role to include jamming and soft-kill counter-UAS missions.

The Coyote forms the expendable effector component of the Army's LIDS (Low, slow, small Unmanned aircraft Integrated Defense System), working alongside ground-based radar and command-and-control nodes to autonomously detect, track, and engage drone threats including quadcopters, fixed-wing UAS, and small loitering munitions. It can be launched from ground vehicles, ships, helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft, giving commanders a flexible, scalable counter-UAS tool that is affordable enough to engage targets in mass. As drone swarm threats have grown since 2022, Raytheon has accelerated Coyote production and is actively pursuing international sales to NATO allies.

The Coyote's evolution from aerial target to frontline weapon system illustrates how the counter-UAS mission domain transformed in less than a decade — a transformation driven entirely by adversary innovation on the battlefield rather than by deliberate U.S. acquisition planning. The system's technical elegance lies in its form factor: the same 6-inch diameter tube launcher that handles Coyote can be installed on Strykers, MRAPs, ship decks, and expeditionary pallets, making the Coyote the most platform-agnostic counter-UAS effector in the U.S. inventory. Block 3's electronic warfare payload is particularly significant, as it can be used for soft-kill missions against drone swarms — jamming their control links and GPS navigation to cause mass mission aborts without expending a warhead for every drone, an approach that dramatically reduces the engagement cost per kill in the swarm defense scenario. As of 2025–2026, the LIDS with Coyote Block 3 is deployed with U.S. Army units in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific, and Raytheon is in active international sales campaigns to provide the system to European NATO allies hardening their air defenses against the Russian drone threat observed extensively in the Ukraine conflict.

Armament

Block 2+: proximity-fuze kinetic warhead; Block 3: EW payload or directed energy module

Development and operational timeline

1. Jun 2015Raytheon delivers first Coyote Block 1 systems to U.S. Army for aerial target missions
2. Nov 2016Coyote re-evaluated as counter-UAS weapon following ISIS small drone incidents in Iraq
3. Mar 2019Block 2 with proximity-fuze kinetic warhead enters production for LIDS program
4. Aug 2020LIDS system with Coyote Block 2 achieves IOC with U.S. Army
5. Apr 2022Block 3 with EW/directed energy payload options unveiled at AUSA Annual Meeting
6. Sep 2023Raytheon receives multi-year LIDS production contract; NATO international sales campaign begins
7. Jun 2024Coyote Block 3 completes live-fire trials against simulated multi-axis drone swarm
8. Mar 2025LIDS/Coyote deployed to Europe following NATO air defense reinforcement demand
9. Oct 2025Raytheon advances Coyote Block 3+ with extended range and improved EW effectiveness