DSEI 2025: Swiss company Destinus conceives Hornet interceptor system to defeat swarms and low cost drones
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Army Recognition examined the Destinus Hornet during DSEI 2025 in London, on 9 September, using information displayed on the stand, a product brief provided by the company, and our own images taken on site. The air vehicle shown carried the Hornet 3 label. Destinus presents it as a multi-threat interceptor and strike system intended first for counter-UAS work and, if required, other short-range targets. Armed forces are hunting for a tool that sits between a gun and a surface-to-air missile, compact enough to deploy at a gatehouse and yet smart enough to kill a loitering munition. The Destinus Hornet seems capable to offer armies these operationnal and tactical capabilities.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Destinus Hornet 3, displayed at DSEI 2025 in London, is a canisterized turbojet interceptor for counter-UAS and loitering munitions with sub-35 km reach, 1.5 kg warhead, fold-out wings, automatic terminal guidance, and integration with radar-cued anti-drone nodes (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).
The air vehicle sits in the small interceptor class with a range under 35 km and a 1.5 kg payload, enough for a focused blast-fragmentation charge or other specialized effects. The airframe shown had a cylindrical fuselage, clipped wings that appear to deploy from the body, and a stub tail. The nose fairing houses the terminal seeker. Destinus lists automatic terminal guidance and integration with multiple radar systems, so the Hornet is meant to accept external cueing, fly an intercept profile, then switch to its own homing logic in the endgame. The display area next to the drone featured the T150 turbojet engine, which gives a good clue to the propulsion class the company works with: small turbojets that deliver high dash speed in a compact package. Whether Hornet uses that exact engine was not spelled out on the card, but the form factor lines up with a fast, expendable airframe rather than a prop-driven chaser.
The architecture around the missile is as important as the missile itself. Destinus describes a network of anti-drone nodes, each node combining detection radar with interceptor rounds. That points to a distributed layout where several launch pods and a local radar create overlapping bubbles. The short range may sound modest but it is deliberate. A 35 km reach, if achieved, covers roughly 3,800 square kilometers from a single site and allows engagements before small drones drop munitions or begin jamming. The company also highlights hermetic containerization and foldable surfaces, practical touches that matter for storage, transport and weatherproofness. Crews can keep rounds sealed until needed and swap spent canisters quickly, a lesson drawn directly from the tempo of modern counter-UAS work.
The guidance chain appears layered. External radar or an optical tracker provides initial target data, a fire control element assigns one or more interceptors, and the Hornet runs a mid-course profile before switching to terminal homing. The nose dome suggests an electro-optical or infrared seeker, possibly with a fused mode, though the data sheet stops short of listing sensor bands. In any case, the promise of automatic terminal guidance is key because operators cannot joystick every shot once swarms arrive. The 1.5 kg warhead is small but adequate for the class of targets that truly worry defenders right now: one-way attack drones, compact reconnaissance UAVs, and improvised rockets. The company does not disclose fuze type, but an airburst or focused directional charge would make sense for a hit-to-proximity profile.
Where it fits tactically is clear. Hornet sits between gun-based solutions that struggle beyond a few kilometers and traditional short-range air defense missiles that remain expensive to fire at cheap drones. In a layered battery, Hornet-class interceptors handle volume. They can be ripple-fired against a formation, cued by radar tracks, then left to prosecute the terminal phase autonomously. The networked node concept also supports defense of spread-out sites like airbases, ammo parks and energy terminals. Because the canisters are compact and sealed, a launcher could be mounted on a light truck or a static mast with minimal support. Reaction time and reload speed matter more than raw kinematics in this mission. If several nodes can hand off tracks or deconflict shots, the system becomes a swarm counter to a swarm problem.
Commanders gain a few benefits that are not always captured on spec sheets. The interceptors are likely cheaper per shot than conventional SAMs, so units can train more and fire more without draining budgets. The footprint is small, which eases deployment in urban or industrial areas where larger systems cannot sit comfortably. And because the air vehicle is expendable, there is no requirement to recover it or manage a chase aircraft as seen with some net-gun concepts. These practicalities often decide whether a counter-UAS system is actually used after six months in theater or parked behind a fence.
The broader context explains why products like Hornet are arriving now. Drone warfare has reshaped the contact line in Ukraine and the tempo of attacks on infrastructure far from the front. Cheap one-way drones, quadcopters carrying bomblets, and small fixed-wing reconnaissance platforms have forced militaries to stretch their air defenses down into the tactical weeds. Layered defense is the mantra, but real gaps remain between electronic attack, guns, and missile systems. European governments are pushing domestic industry to fill those gaps with shorter development cycles and export-friendly designs. An interceptor that can be launched in numbers, integrate with third-party radars and sit in sealed boxes until called upon is exactly the kind of tool procurement staffs are shopping for. The need to defend airfields and power infrastructure at home is essential, as the Ukrainian operation Spiderweb proved.
None of this guarantees instant success. Users will want to see seeker performance against small, low-contrast targets, proof of terminal reliability in clutter, and clear cost per shot. They will also look for integration with existing tactical radars and battle management systems rather than proprietary islands. Still, the logic of the design is sound and the packaging practical. If the company can demonstrate credible intercepts against representative drones and loitering munitions, Hornet will slot naturally into the growing catalog of European short-range counter-UAS options.
Written by Evan Lerouvillois, Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group.
Evan studied International Relations, and quickly specialized in defense and security. He is particularly interested in the influence of the defense sector on global geopolitics, and analyzes how technological innovations in defense, arms export contracts, and military strategies influence the international geopolitical scene.
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Army Recognition examined the Destinus Hornet during DSEI 2025 in London, on 9 September, using information displayed on the stand, a product brief provided by the company, and our own images taken on site. The air vehicle shown carried the Hornet 3 label. Destinus presents it as a multi-threat interceptor and strike system intended first for counter-UAS work and, if required, other short-range targets. Armed forces are hunting for a tool that sits between a gun and a surface-to-air missile, compact enough to deploy at a gatehouse and yet smart enough to kill a loitering munition. The Destinus Hornet seems capable to offer armies these operationnal and tactical capabilities.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Destinus Hornet 3, displayed at DSEI 2025 in London, is a canisterized turbojet interceptor for counter-UAS and loitering munitions with sub-35 km reach, 1.5 kg warhead, fold-out wings, automatic terminal guidance, and integration with radar-cued anti-drone nodes (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).
The air vehicle sits in the small interceptor class with a range under 35 km and a 1.5 kg payload, enough for a focused blast-fragmentation charge or other specialized effects. The airframe shown had a cylindrical fuselage, clipped wings that appear to deploy from the body, and a stub tail. The nose fairing houses the terminal seeker. Destinus lists automatic terminal guidance and integration with multiple radar systems, so the Hornet is meant to accept external cueing, fly an intercept profile, then switch to its own homing logic in the endgame. The display area next to the drone featured the T150 turbojet engine, which gives a good clue to the propulsion class the company works with: small turbojets that deliver high dash speed in a compact package. Whether Hornet uses that exact engine was not spelled out on the card, but the form factor lines up with a fast, expendable airframe rather than a prop-driven chaser.
The architecture around the missile is as important as the missile itself. Destinus describes a network of anti-drone nodes, each node combining detection radar with interceptor rounds. That points to a distributed layout where several launch pods and a local radar create overlapping bubbles. The short range may sound modest but it is deliberate. A 35 km reach, if achieved, covers roughly 3,800 square kilometers from a single site and allows engagements before small drones drop munitions or begin jamming. The company also highlights hermetic containerization and foldable surfaces, practical touches that matter for storage, transport and weatherproofness. Crews can keep rounds sealed until needed and swap spent canisters quickly, a lesson drawn directly from the tempo of modern counter-UAS work.
The guidance chain appears layered. External radar or an optical tracker provides initial target data, a fire control element assigns one or more interceptors, and the Hornet runs a mid-course profile before switching to terminal homing. The nose dome suggests an electro-optical or infrared seeker, possibly with a fused mode, though the data sheet stops short of listing sensor bands. In any case, the promise of automatic terminal guidance is key because operators cannot joystick every shot once swarms arrive. The 1.5 kg warhead is small but adequate for the class of targets that truly worry defenders right now: one-way attack drones, compact reconnaissance UAVs, and improvised rockets. The company does not disclose fuze type, but an airburst or focused directional charge would make sense for a hit-to-proximity profile.
Where it fits tactically is clear. Hornet sits between gun-based solutions that struggle beyond a few kilometers and traditional short-range air defense missiles that remain expensive to fire at cheap drones. In a layered battery, Hornet-class interceptors handle volume. They can be ripple-fired against a formation, cued by radar tracks, then left to prosecute the terminal phase autonomously. The networked node concept also supports defense of spread-out sites like airbases, ammo parks and energy terminals. Because the canisters are compact and sealed, a launcher could be mounted on a light truck or a static mast with minimal support. Reaction time and reload speed matter more than raw kinematics in this mission. If several nodes can hand off tracks or deconflict shots, the system becomes a swarm counter to a swarm problem.
Commanders gain a few benefits that are not always captured on spec sheets. The interceptors are likely cheaper per shot than conventional SAMs, so units can train more and fire more without draining budgets. The footprint is small, which eases deployment in urban or industrial areas where larger systems cannot sit comfortably. And because the air vehicle is expendable, there is no requirement to recover it or manage a chase aircraft as seen with some net-gun concepts. These practicalities often decide whether a counter-UAS system is actually used after six months in theater or parked behind a fence.
The broader context explains why products like Hornet are arriving now. Drone warfare has reshaped the contact line in Ukraine and the tempo of attacks on infrastructure far from the front. Cheap one-way drones, quadcopters carrying bomblets, and small fixed-wing reconnaissance platforms have forced militaries to stretch their air defenses down into the tactical weeds. Layered defense is the mantra, but real gaps remain between electronic attack, guns, and missile systems. European governments are pushing domestic industry to fill those gaps with shorter development cycles and export-friendly designs. An interceptor that can be launched in numbers, integrate with third-party radars and sit in sealed boxes until called upon is exactly the kind of tool procurement staffs are shopping for. The need to defend airfields and power infrastructure at home is essential, as the Ukrainian operation Spiderweb proved.
None of this guarantees instant success. Users will want to see seeker performance against small, low-contrast targets, proof of terminal reliability in clutter, and clear cost per shot. They will also look for integration with existing tactical radars and battle management systems rather than proprietary islands. Still, the logic of the design is sound and the packaging practical. If the company can demonstrate credible intercepts against representative drones and loitering munitions, Hornet will slot naturally into the growing catalog of European short-range counter-UAS options.
Written by Evan Lerouvillois, Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group.
Evan studied International Relations, and quickly specialized in defense and security. He is particularly interested in the influence of the defense sector on global geopolitics, and analyzes how technological innovations in defense, arms export contracts, and military strategies influence the international geopolitical scene.
