UK Typhoon jets fitted with bargain-bin drone busters for Middle East sorties

Britain has deployed low-cost anti-drone rockets to the Middle East, just weeks after successful tests of the equipment were announced. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) says the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) will be fitted to British Typhoon jets, and has already seen operational use in the Middle East with No. 9 Squadron RAF. As reported by The Register last month, APKWS is actually a kit that adds laser homing capability to US-made Hydra 70 2.75-inch (70 mm) unguided rockets. The kit splices a mid-section between the motor of the rocket and its warhead that is equipped with deployable steering canards which flip out after launch. Laser seekers mounted on the leading edge of those fins lock onto a laser-designated target and steer the rocket toward it. Already in use on some US combat aircraft, the system is said to cost $30,000 to $40,000. This makes it much less expensive than a typical air-to-air missile, and possibly comparable to the cost of an Iranian Shahed drone, one of the targets it is likely to be used against. The threat posed by drones to bases such as RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus - due to the US-Iran conflict - has brought new urgency to the APKWS program, despite the weapon's 24-year development history. March saw a test strike on a ground-based target, the MoD says, while the RAF's Test and Evaluation Squadron conducted the successful air-to-air firing in April. "This has been a superb effort working with industry to test and deploy this system in a matter of months, which will help the RAF shoot down many more drones at a much lower cost," said Luke Pollard, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry. So it seems the powers-that-be can pull their finger out, if the need is perceived as urgent enough. Contrast that with the program to deliver the Royal Navy's Type 26 frigates. Planning for what became the Type 26 began in 1998, and it is likely that 30 years will have elapsed before the first one enters service. APKWS isn't the only counter-drone technology entering UK service. The firsttranche ofSkyhammer interceptors and launchers is due for delivery this month, following a multimillion-pound contract signed with manufacturer Cambridge Aerospace in April. Late last year, the Royal Navy's Wildcat helicopters were cleared to carry the Lightweight Multirole Missile, or Martlet, which is also laser-guided. Some were deployed to RAF Akrotiri to help counter Iranian drones, while the RAF also has the Rapid Sentry short-range air defense system that fires Martlet missiles. (R)