Raytheon tests lower-cost Coyote Block 3NK drone hunter for US Army

Raytheon says it has successfully tested a reusable version of its Coyote counter-drone system for the US Army, aiming at a problem commanders increasingly worry about: how to fight a drone swarm without relying on large numbers expensive interceptors. 

Raytheon on February 11, 2026, said its Coyote Block 3 Non-Kinetic (3NK) drone hunter defeated drone swarms during a recent Army demonstration and showed it can be recovered and used again.  

Video shared by Raytheon shows what that looks like. The Coyote interceptor launches from its ground support unit and then races past target drones, and the drones tumble out of the sky almost immediately. The aircraft do not collide, and there are no visible explosions. Raytheon said the system knocked out at least 10 drones during Operation Clear Horizon trials in October 2025, and then landed in a recovery net so it could be reused.

Raytheon calls the system “non-kinetic,” which in plain terms means it brings drones down without a traditional blast or direct hit. The company has not publicly described the exact method used by the 3NK variant.  

Swarms punish defenders by forcing them to fire many projectiles. A system that can take out an entire swarm without firing a single shot, return, and fly another mission could help stretch limited inventories and lower the cost of defending against repeated drone swarm waves. 

This is not the first time Coyote has shown that basic concept. In 2021, Raytheon said the Army used a Coyote Block 3 non-kinetic system to engage and defeat a swarm of 10 drones in a test, and that the vehicle was recovered, refurbished, and reused during the same event.  

What is new now is the push to present 3NK as something the Army can field in large numbers and at lower cost. 

Raytheon is tying the work to the Army’s broader counter-drone effort known as Low, slow, small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System, or LIDS. Raytheon expects higher production across the Coyote family later in 2026. The post Raytheon tests lower-cost Coyote Block 3NK drone hunter for US Army appeared first on AeroTime.

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