Leonardo DRS adapts counter-drone system for use at sea

Leonardo DRS has adapted its ground-based counter-drone technology for use at sea, packaging it into a system called the Maritime-Mission Equipment Package, or M-MEP, the company said in a social media announcement.

The M-MEP is built to detect, identify, track and defeat drones threatening ships, using a modular design intended to work across a range of vessel sizes. Leonardo DRS said the system can be deployed on manned or unmanned surface vessels starting at 14 feet in length and larger.

“As unmanned aerial threats continue to grow in range, autonomy, and scale, maritime operators need protection that is both agile and mission ready,” Leonardo DRS said. “The Maritime-Mission Equipment Package (M-MEP) from Leonardo DRS is designed to bring advanced Counter-UAS protection to the maritime environment through a platform-agnostic, rapidly integrated solution.”

The system combines active and passive radar with electro-optical and infrared sensors to detect single or multiple incoming drones, according to the company. For jamming, the M-MEP uses GPS and 4G/5G electronic warfare systems designed to disrupt drone guidance signals once a threat has been confirmed.

Leonardo DRS said the M-MEP can also carry kinetic weapons to physically intercept drones when configured to do so, an option the company said reduces reliance on more expensive missile systems against small, low-cost drone threats. The company rates the system’s detection and engagement technology at Technology Readiness Level 9, the U.S. government’s designation for a system proven through successful operational use.

The M-MEP is built on Leonardo DRS’s broader Mission Equipment Package product line, which the company has developed for uncrewed surface vessels used in naval operations. The maritime variant is adapted from ground-based counter-drone systems the company has fielded for the U.S. military.