MSPO 2026 – Kongsberg selects Echodyne MESA radar for Counter-UAS applications

Echodyne and Kongsberg are using MSPO 2026 to highlight a new integration of Echodyne’s MESA® radar technology with the Kongsberg Protector remote weapon station family. The arrangement is designed to provide precise radar detection, tracking and targeting data for counter-uncrewed aircraft system (C-UAS) missions across static, crewed and uncrewed land and maritime platforms

Echodyne announced that Kongsberg has selected its MESA radar platform for a range of air and surface applications. One of the first confirmed applications is the integration of the radar into the Protector RS4 and RS6 remote weapon stations, creating a more closely integrated detection-to-defeat capability against small, agile and low-signature drones. The two companies are exhibiting the capability at the 34th International Defence Industry Exhibition, held in Kielce, Poland, from 8 to 11 September 2026.

Radar-enabled weapon stations

The integration brings Echodyne’s compact, solid-state radar into the Protector fire-control architecture. Rather than treating radar as a separate surveillance asset, the system is intended to provide the remote weapon station with high-fidelity target data – including range, range rate, bearing and target kinematics – to support rapid cueing, tracking and engagement.

This distinction is increasingly important in the counter-UAS mission. Detecting a drone is only the first step of the engagement chain. A C-UAS system must then establish a stable track, assess whether the object represents a threat, cue identification sensors, calculate an engagement solution and maintain adequate target data until the effector can be employed.

Against small multirotor drones and compact fixed-wing UAS, the requirement is particularly demanding. Such targets may fly close to terrain, buildings, vegetation or vehicles; they may operate in cluttered environments, alter speed and altitude abruptly, and present a low radar cross-section. A radar able to produce persistent and accurate tracks can therefore substantially improve the effectiveness of an EO/IR payload, a remote weapon station and a wider networked air-defence architecture.

Kongsberg describes the RS4 as a flexible remote weapon station for tactical vehicles, armoured platforms and naval vessels. With its C-UAS software, it can support the protection of personnel and critical infrastructure against drone threats. The wider Protector family incorporates collaborative fire control functions, allowing integration with battle-management systems, sensor networks, weapon systems, defensive systems and unmanned platforms.

MESA radar architecture

Echodyne’s technology is based on its patented MESA (Metamaterials Electronically Scanned Array) architecture. It is a solid-state radar concept intended to provide electronically scanned array performance with reduced size, weight, power and cost compared with traditional high-end active electronically scanned array, or AESA, systems.

Unlike a conventional mechanically rotating radar antenna, an electronically scanned array steers and shapes its beam electronically. This enables the sensor to scan, revisit and track objects rapidly, while directing more radar resources towards a target of concern. In the counter-drone mission, that capability can be important when a small UAS must be tracked continuously during manoeuvres rather than merely detected during periodic antenna rotations.

Echodyne’s metamaterial aperture uses a dense arrangement of controllable radiating elements. The company states that the MESA design employs hundreds of tightly packed transmit/receive elements, enabling the radar to generate a narrow and electronically steerable beam. This narrow beam can improve angular discrimination and help separate a small target from nearby clutter or other objects in the air picture.

That characteristic is important when a drone appears against a complex background. A broad radar beam may include the drone, ground reflections, structures, vegetation and other unwanted returns. A more focused beam, combined with Doppler processing and modern tracking algorithms, supports a clearer and more stable target track.

EchoShield and 4D tracking

One of Echodyne’s main defence radar systems is EchoShield, a medium-range, software-defined pulse-Doppler 4D MESA radar. The system operates in the Ku-band between 15.4 GHz and 16.6 GHz and is designed for counter-UAS, force-protection, border-security and critical-infrastructure missions.

The term “4D” refers to the four principal categories of target data generated by the radar: range, azimuth, elevation and radial velocity. Range indicates the target’s distance from the sensor. Azimuth gives its left-to-right bearing, while elevation provides the vertical angle. Radial velocity measures whether, and how rapidly, the object is moving towards or away from the radar.

The velocity element is especially relevant in low-altitude surveillance. Pulse-Doppler radar measures the frequency shift associated with moving objects, enabling it to distinguish a drone from static or slowly changing clutter such as terrain, buildings and infrastructure. This makes the technology particularly suitable for detecting and tracking low, slow and small threats in environments where conventional surveillance systems may struggle with false returns.

Echodyne states that EchoShield offers a field of view of 130° in azimuth and 90° in elevation. The radar is reported to deliver angular tracking accuracy of better than 0.5° in both azimuth and elevation, and it refreshes tracks at 10 Hz, or ten times per second. It can track more than 1,000 objects of interest, while its instrumented range is stated as up to 30 km, depending on the selected mission configuration and waveform. Published data also indicates range accuracy between 0.75 m and 6 m, depending on waveform selection.

The radar has a mass of 19.2 kg, measures 425 mm by 330 mm by 180 mm, and requires less than 250 W in operation. It is designed for use in demanding operational conditions, with IP67 weather protection and qualification to MIL-STD-810H environmental requirements. These characteristics support integration on fixed installations, mobile ground vehicles, temporary masts and, depending on platform and mission requirements, maritime or unmanned systems.

The 10 Hz update rate is significant for fire-control purposes. A drone flying at 20 m/s moves approximately 2 m between updates at that rate. Frequent position and velocity updates enable a weapon station to maintain a more current target solution, particularly if the drone is changing course, altitude or speed. This supports smoother cueing of the EO/IR sensor suite and more responsive weapon-station slewing.

Software-Defined C-UAS Capability

EchoShield is described by Echodyne as a software-defined and cognitive radar. This means that its waveforms, beam-management approach, search patterns and signal-processing functions can be adapted through software rather than being fixed solely by hardware design. In a C-UAS environment, where drone airframes, propulsion systems, flight profiles and tactics are evolving quickly, software-defined functionality can give users a means of updating radar performance and mission settings without replacing the physical sensor.

The cognitive aspect relates to adaptive management of radar resources. Instead of scanning every part of the surveillance volume with identical attention, the system can prioritise a developing track, an ambiguous object or an area with a higher assessed threat level. This can be useful in crowded airspace or during a multi-target event, when radar resources must be allocated efficiently.

Echodyne also incorporates artificial-intelligence and machine-learning-enabled classification functions. The company states that the radar can assist in categorising tracks as people, vehicles, fixed-wing aircraft or multirotor drones. Such automated classification is not a substitute for identification, operator judgement or rules-of-engagement procedures, especially where kinetic engagement is contemplated. It can, however, reduce operator workload and help the command system prioritise which tracks should receive EO/IR attention first.

A networked detection-to-defeat chain

The integration with Protector RS4 and RS6 is intended to establish a closer sensor-to-effector relationship. Echodyne’s radar supplies target tracking data, while the Protector remote weapon station contributes stabilised sensors, fire-control functionality and the appropriate selected effector. Kongsberg’s Collaborative Fire Control system provides the framework to connect these elements with external sensors, command-and-control networks and other defensive assets.

The RS6 is particularly relevant for configurations requiring heavier C-UAS effectors. Kongsberg states that when the RS6 is integrated with radar sensors, XM914 programmable airburst ammunition and Stinger missiles, it can provide a highly accurate engagement capability against small and medium-sized drones. The company says this has been validated through the US Marine Air Defense Integrated System, or MADIS, C-UAS testing programme.

In practical terms, the engagement sequence can begin with a surveillance sensor or networked command-and-control node identifying a possible drone. The remote weapon station can then be cued towards the reported position. The MESA radar refines the track and supplies continuous range, bearing, velocity and kinematic data. The EO/IR payload can support visual identification and operator confirmation, after which the weapon station calculates and executes an engagement using the effector appropriate to the threat, the tactical situation and the applicable rules of engagement.

This approach reduces reliance on manual visual acquisition and helps maintain target awareness when optical systems are affected by darkness, fog, rain, smoke or visually cluttered backgrounds. It also supports a layered defensive model, in which different sensors and effectors cooperate rather than operating as separate systems.

Wider air and surface potential

The announced selection covers more than the Protector weapon-station programme. Echodyne and Kongsberg are considering further uses for MESA radar technology across Kongsberg’s wider portfolio of air and surface applications. While the companies have not detailed every prospective platform or configuration, the collaboration indicates that compact, electronically scanned radars could be applied to force protection, air surveillance, targeting, platform self-protection and unmanned-system missions.

Kongsberg Geospatial has already worked with Echodyne in the airspace-management sector. In 2024, the two companies integrated Echodyne radar into the IRIS Terminal and IRIS GCS ecosystem for beyond-visual-line-of-sight and advanced air-mobility operations, demonstrating the wider utility of precision radar for persistent surveillance in conditions where vision-based sensors are constrained by weather or lighting.

At MSPO 2026, however, the emphasis is clearly on the operational C-UAS challenge. The proliferation of low-cost small drones has created a requirement not simply to spot an airborne object, but to generate accurate, persistent and actionable track data quickly enough to support identification, command decisions and engagement.

The MESA-enabled Protector solution presented in Kielce reflects this shift. By combining compact electronically scanned radar, target classification, radar-to-EO/IR cueing, networked fire control and remote weapon-station integration, Echodyne and Kongsberg are proposing a mobile and scalable architecture for the detection-to-defeat mission against evolving drone threats.

Photos by Jules Roukoz