US Army Adopts Vampire Anti-Drone System

The US Army has signed a procurement contract for the anti-drone system “Vampire” developed by L3Harris. According to The Register, the contract is worth up to $106 million (approximately 17 billion yen) and will be part of a multi-layered drone defense for force protection. This system, which has been combat-tested in the Ukraine war, is attracting attention as a low-cost means of shooting down small unmanned aerial vehicles using laser-guided rockets.

System Mechanism

The Vampire is a fully self-contained platform, characterized by its design that can be mounted on a truck bed. It integrates an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) stabilized targeting system on a telescopic mast for target acquisition and tracking. The armament uses the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS), which adds laser guidance capability to the US-made Hydra 70 2.75-inch (70mm) rocket, and is becoming established as a relatively inexpensive anti-drone munition. The same rocket has already been mounted on the British Royal Air Force’s Typhoon fighter jets and used in counter-drone missions in the Middle East.

Maximum range is approximately 6 km (3.8 miles). The laser designator illuminates the target, and the design enables distributed engagement in coordination with other platforms. According to L3Harris, the modular plug-in design allows for rapid addition of other sensors, effectors, and radio management systems.

Contract Background

The US Army has adopted a layered defense approach to counter the drone threat. The Vampire serves as one layer. Tom Kirkland, President of L3Harris’ Targeting & Sensor Systems division, said, “We have worked with the Army to quickly assemble, deploy, install, and fire new counter-UxS (counter-unmanned systems) systems.”

The Vampire was developed in the early stages of the Ukraine war as a low-cost means to counter the threat of Russian-made drones. Production is currently being ramped up at a newly established production line in Huntsville, Alabama, to meet growing demand from the US and allied nations. L3Harris has not disclosed the exact number of systems to be supplied under the contract.

Drone Threats on the Battlefield

In modern warfare, the threat from reconnaissance and attack drones modified from civilian drones, as well as autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), has become extremely serious. In the Ukraine war, tank destruction by FPV drones has been reported, and in the Middle East, cruise-mission-type suicide drone attacks have occurred frequently. Conventional surface-to-air missile systems are not cost-effective, and low-cost kinetic means are needed in conjunction with laser weapons and electronic warfare equipment.

The Vampire fills this gap. The unit cost of one APKWS rocket is said to be tens of thousands of dollars, which is overwhelmingly cheaper than surface-to-air missiles costing hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. In addition, the truck-mounted design provides high mobility, allowing frontline rapid response units to deploy quickly.

Editorial Opinion

In the short term, this contract could accelerate the adoption of similar anti-drone systems, primarily among NATO member countries. The increase in Vampire production capacity is seen as also considering supply to Ukraine, and may lead to standardization of future anti-drone equipment. In particular, the APKWS rocket is already widely used by the US military, offering significant advantages in training and logistics.

From a long-term perspective, the question is how well kinetic interceptors can withstand cost competition against the rapid evolution of autonomous drones. In an era where FPV drones are mass-produced for a few hundred dollars per unit, the model of shooting them down with tens-of-thousands-of-dollar rockets raises sustainability concerns. The editorial board assesses that combining electronic warfare, laser weapons, network containment, and other non-kinetic measures will be essential in the future.

As a question from the editorial board, we would like to point out that the asymmetry between low-cost drones and expensive interceptors is fundamentally changing the cost structure of military operations. This trend will also ripple into drone regulations in the civilian sector and the expansion of the anti-drone technology market. We encourage readers to deepen their thoughts on the paradigm shift in security brought about by inexpensive UAVs.

References

• US Army picks out Vampire to fill a gap in its layered drone defenses - The Register — Published June 14, 2026
• Ukraine, First Kill by AI Autonomous Drone — Related article on this site about the reality of drone attacks