Small drones changed modern combat forever, and armor crews are paying attention. When cheap quadcopters started dropping explosives down the hatches of multi-million dollar combat vehicles, military contractors scrambled for fixes. Norway's Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace found a definitive answer by teaming up with U.S. radar innovator Echodyne.
Kongsberg integrated Echodyne's MESA radar into its PROTECTOR RS4 and RS6 remote weapon stations. If you follow military hardware, you know the PROTECTOR family is the most widely fielded remote weapon system on earth, with over 25,000 units delivered across more than 31 countries. Adding an active electronic radar turns standard vehicle gun mounts into dedicated counter-drone platforms. For a different perspective, see: this related article.
Solving the Low-Signature Drone Problem
Spotting a low-signature, fast-moving drone with standard optics is an uphill battle. Cameras get blinded by dust, smoke, or glaring sun, and human reaction times struggle against agile targets. Traditional high-end military radars are too bulky, too power-hungry, and too expensive to put on every individual armored vehicle.
Echodyne's solid-state, electronically scanned array technology solves this size, weight, and power dilemma. The MESA radar gives the PROTECTOR system constant tracking data—range, speed, and bearing—without weighing down the turret. Related analysis on this trend has been provided by Wired.
"Integrating MESA radar gives the PROTECTOR family the precise, stable and persistent tracks needed to cue the fire-control system, sustain target lock and act decisively against fast-moving, low-signature drone threats," explains Echodyne CEO Eben Frankenberg.
The radar feeds tracking telemetry directly into the station's fire-control architecture. Instead of an operator hunting through a digital screen while under fire, the system locks on and holds the target autonomously.
Why Programmable Ammo Changes the Equation
Hardware upgrades only matter if they hit the target. The real power of this integration shines when the weapon station fires programmable airburst rounds.
Shooting a tiny drone with standard ball ammunition is difficult. Airburst rounds change the math by exploding right next to the target in mid-air, shredding it with shrapnel. But timing that explosion requires exact distance and velocity data.
The MESA radar provides the exact telemetry needed to compute those precise airburst solutions in milliseconds. When a vehicle faces a swarm of incoming FPV drones, shaving milliseconds off the detection-to-engagement loop is the difference between survival and destruction.
Built Through Years of Testing
Defense acquisitions often suffer from rushed slide-deck promises that fail under field conditions. This integration took a different path. Kongsberg and Echodyne spent multiple years quietly testing, evaluating, and refining the setup before making it public.
The hardware debuted internationally at the MSPO defense exhibition in Kielce, Poland. Troops operating Strykers or heavier combat vehicles equipped with RS4 or RS6 stations can now handle localized air defense without needing a separate, dedicated anti-air vehicle trailing behind them.
If you look at where land warfare is heading, organic counter-drone protection for every single combat vehicle is mandatory. By upgrading its massive existing inventory rather than forcing militaries to buy entirely new turrets, Kongsberg just handed thousands of crews a cheap, lethal shield against modern aerial threats.
