New Sky Warden C-UAS Effector Concept Showcased

MBDA's new effector concept is a ground launched anti-air munition targeting threats that include Class 1 & smaller Class 2 small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS) and Loitering Munitions By Joseph Macey / 29 Jul 2024

Discover Leading Defense Technology Solutions

Discover cutting-edge solutions from leading global suppliers
SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT
New Sky Warden C-UAS Effector Concept Showcased
Follow DA

MBDA has showcased a new effector concept for its Sky Warden counter-uncrewed aerial system (C-UAS) modular solution.

The new effector concept featured at the 2024 Farnborough International Airshow is a ground launched anti-air munition targeting threats that include Class 1 & smaller Class 2 small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS) and Loitering Munitions.

Collaborating with Fortem Technologies and utilizing their DroneHunter® technology, the concept enables the rapid incorporation of a warhead on a drone to defeat threats at lower cost. Tests of the munition has proved its effectiveness and lethality.

Éric Béranger, CEO of MBDA, said; “Our flagship Sky Warden modular C-UAS system is designed to evolve at the same rapid speed as the drone threat the world now faces, as demonstrated so effectively in recent trials. This latest effector solution shows MBDA in our best light: innovative and agile, adapting to the environment around us, and anticipating our customers’ needs. The exciting advance MBDA have made with this effector is in creating an independent warhead design that operators can add to a drone in the battlefield. It demonstrates our collaboration DNA, partnering with an emerging technology company to create a new low-cost counter drone effector.”

The company will also draw on its recent successful operational demonstration, where MBDA’s flagship C-UAS solution demonstrated its capabilities to 17 customer delegations.

These recent customer demonstrations saw Sky Warden faced with a wide range of offensive drone threats – with varying kinetic characteristics and in realistic operational scenarios – neutralising them all. Using artificial intelligence (AI) to assist its human operators to identify and classify the different threats from its full set of sensors (radar, passive RF, electro-optical cameras, etc.), Sky Warden automatically assigned to the most appropriate and available effector maximising the efficiency. In the threat scenarios Sky Warden faced, it blocked attacking drones with jammers, captured them with hunter drones, neutralised them in rapid sequence by laser, and destroyed a ‘shahed-like’ drone with a Mistral 3 missile at very long distance.

With the tests of its new effector concept and the recent demonstration in Italy, MBDA sees an RF guided drone-style effector with a directional fragmenting warhead complementing the effects that Sky Warden already provides, giving customers more options to adapt it to their preferred needs.

Sky Warden is a scalable system that can effectively neutralise any form of threat, from tactical drones to reconnaissance mini-drones, as well as other traditional ‘air breathing’ threats. The system manages the full C-UAS kill chain from detection to neutralisation and is designed to operate both as an integrated component in a layered air defence architecture, or in a standalone configuration. Using a networked eco-system of constantly evolving sensors and effectors, Sky Warden matches the UAS threat and its evolutions.

Whether vehicle mounted or dismounted, Sky Warden satisfies the need for both mobility and deployment. Being modular, scalable, and evolvable, customer can tailor Sky Warden to their specific requirements.

Find C-UAS Equipment manufacturers > >

Posted by Joseph Macey Connect & Contact

Latest Articles

Support Equipment Solutions for Military Aviation & Aerospace

WilliamsRDM is a leading developer and manufacturer of common and peculiar support equipment for military aviation and aerospace programs, with...

May 22, 2025
New Hybrid Solution for Long-Term GNSS-Denied Navigation

Advanced Navigation has demonstrated a major breakthrough with a Hybrid Navigation System designed for GPS-denied environments, combining a strategic-grade FOG INS with a laser velocity sensor

May 21, 2025
New muLTElink Features Improve Command & Control for UAS

uAvionix’s latest muLTElink software update enhances UAS connectivity with automated link management, improving resilience, reliability, and cost-efficiency in complex operations

May 21, 2025
Honeywell Unveils Resilient INS with Anti-Jamming Technology

Honeywell has launched its new HGuide o480 INS, delivering precise, resilient navigation with anti-jamming technology for compact unmanned systems operating in GPS-denied or contested environments

May 21, 2025
Trillium Gimbal Enhances Imaging for Launched Effects & Loitering Munitions

Trillium Engineering introduces the HD25-LV-C, a lightweight imaging system optimized for cost-constrained, expendable platforms like Launched Effects and loitering munitions

May 21, 2025
Advanced ISR Technologies Launched by SightLine Applications

SightLine Applications demos cutting-edge ISR advancements at XPONENTIAL 2025, featuring the ultra-compact 1710-OEM processor and the Athena AI-integrated 4100 board for enhanced edge-based AI and multi-stream video processing

May 21, 2025

Featured Content

New Line of Kinetic-Capable Unmanned Surface Vessels Introduced

Red Cat Holdings enters the maritime autonomy market with a new line of combat-proven USVs, expanding its multi-domain unmanned systems for naval operations

May 20, 2025
Next-Gen Group 2 UAS Enters Production with Extended Endurance & Upgrades

Aurora Flight Sciences upgrades the SKIRON-X Group 2 UAS with greater versatility and tactical mission endurance, as well as announcing the hydrogen-powered SKIRON-XLE variant

May 13, 2025
Discover ANELLO’s SiPhOG™ for GNSS-Denied Navigation at XPO25

CEO of ANELLO Photonics, Dr. Mario Paniccia, will present at Xponential 2025 on the company's SiPhOG-based inertial navigation technology in GPS-denied and GNSS-contested environments.

May 09, 2025
Advancing Defense Capability Through Strategic Collaboration Defense Advancement works with major OEMs to foster collaboration and increase engagement with SMEs, to accelerate innovation and drive defense capabilities forward.