Dutch Navy to equip fleet with Destinus C-UAS interceptor drones

PARIS — The Royal Netherlands Navy plans to equip its fleet with a new counter-UAS capability based on interceptor drones from defense firm Destinus to improve protection of its warships against drone attacks.

Destinus will develop a kinetic counter-UAS capability for the Navy based on its Hornet B2 interceptor, the company said in an emailed statement late Monday. The program will include delivery of the interceptors, integration with several warships and support towards a possible initial operating capability, with the program slated for completion in the second quarter of 2027.

“The threat of drones at medium range is increasing,” the Dutch Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Monday. “That’s clear from both operational analyses as well as the current threat picture during maritime operations. Sailing units therefore need additional means to effectively defend themselves in fleets.”

Ukraine has been using low-cost interceptor drones to defeat one-way attack UAVs, offering a potential solution for Western navies that have found themselves firing expensive missiles at relatively cheap Houthi drones in the Red Sea. The U.S. Navy has already installed launchers for Raytheon’s Coyote interceptor on Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

The new system will be an addition to existing armaments, the Dutch MoD said. The system will consist of a base station and a launch platform that can fire a drone interceptor, and the C-UAS solution will continue to be developed through testing, the ministry said.

“The program addresses the growing requirement for scalable naval protection against low-cost, high-volume aerial threats,” Destinus said.

The company said an earlier version of the interceptor, the Hornet B1, is already in serial production. The system consists of an interceptor launched from a sealed canister by a rocket booster, before deploying its wings and transitioning to electric-powered cruise flight.

The interceptor is designed to intercept one-way attack systems using electro-optical and infrared sensing and AI-based processing for the terminal phase, at a cost per engagement “far below that of traditional interceptor missiles,” according to Destinus.

“Low-cost aerial threats have inverted the economics of naval air defense: no navy can sustainably trade multimillion-euro missiles against low-cost threats arriving at volume,” Destinus CEO Mikhail Kokorich said in a statement. “Hornet B2 answers this with a different architecture.”

The Dutch Navy will contribute direct operational expertise throughout the development and evaluation process, shaping capability requirements and system specifications, Destinus said. That will reduce the need for adaptation after system development, according to the company.