Analysts back HPM for deep magazines
- U.S. Army market research published in August sought a sub-$150,000 counter-drone missile, while analysts on September 1 argued microwave and RF defeat better preserves magazines. - The Army’s Next Generation C-sUAS Missile target calls for at least 5,000 rounds, Coyote-launcher compatibility, and intercepts beyond 16 kilometers. - Industry responses to the Army’s NGCM request are the next marker; the notice was reported by defense outlets in early August.
The U.S. Army’s search for a cheaper counter-drone missile has sharpened a parallel argument now spreading through defense circles: that high-power microwave and other radio-frequency defeat tools are better suited than missiles for large drone raids. An Army request for information published in early August set a target price below $150,000 for a Next Generation C-sUAS Missile, or NGCM, and called for compatibility with Raytheon’s Coyote launcher. Defense outlets that reviewed the notice said the Army wants at least 5,000 missiles and a threshold intercept range beyond 16 kilometers. ### Why are microwaves and RF denial being pushed alongside a new interceptor? Recent defense commentary has centered on magazine depth. Posts and specialist coverage over the past several weeks have argued that kinetic interceptors can be exhausted quickly in a swarm attack, while high-power microwave systems can engage multiple drones without spending one missile per target. (the-arsenal-report.com) ThinKom Solutions said in May that its Alecto mobile high-power microwave system was designed to defeat drone swarms while on the move. Lockheed Martin’s MORFIUS X-Rotor, unveiled in July, was described by the company in trade coverage as a “one-to-many” counter-drone system aimed at swarm attacks. Those programs have added concrete hardware examples to the argument that non-kinetic effectors can preserve missile stocks for harder targets. (unmannedsystemstechnology.com) ### What exactly does the Army want from NGCM? The Army’s NGCM notice, as described by Breaking Defense, DefenseScoop, Stars and Stripes and other outlets, seeks a missile that can defeat Group 2 and Group 3 drones and launch from the existing Coyote launcher with minimal changes. The same reports said the missile must cost less than $150,000 per round. (unmannedsystemstechnology.com) The range requirement is one of the clearest signals in the notice. DefenseScoop and The Defense Post reported a threshold requirement to engage targets beyond 16 kilometers at about 6 kilometers altitude, with an objective of more than 25 kilometers at roughly 8 kilometers altitude. The Army also wants an all-weather RF seeker and launch within five seconds of operator command, according to those reports. (breakingdefense.com) ### Why does the 5,000-round figure matter? The 5,000-unit figure points to scale rather than a boutique buy. The Arsenal Report said the Army’s request specified a minimum planned procurement of 5,000 missiles, with an initial lot of 50 missiles for operational assessment. That number also frames the cost problem the Army is trying to solve. (thedefensepost.com) At the target ceiling of $150,000 per missile, a 5,000-round buy would imply a notional upper bound of $750 million for the interceptors alone, before launchers, sensors, support equipment and sustainment. That arithmetic helps explain why analysts are pairing the NGCM discussion with calls for non-kinetic layers against mass raids. (the-arsenal-report.com) ### Does this replace kinetic interceptors? Army reporting on the notice does not suggest that. The requirement itself points to a layered architecture: a faster, longer-range missile for some targets, and separate interest across the services in microwave and electronic-warfare tools for raid-size attacks and lower-cost engagements. Specialist coverage of counter-UAS systems has made the same case in broader terms, describing electronic warfare, high-power microwave, directed energy and kinetic interceptors as complementary layers rather than substitutes. (the-arsenal-report.com) The dividing line is usually target set and raid size, not a single winner-take-all technology. ### What should readers watch next? (breakingdefense.com) The Army’s next visible step is industry response to the NGCM market research and any follow-on solicitation. The Arsenal Report said the notice envisioned an initial 50-missile operational assessment lot, while other outlets reported first deliveries are expected in 2028 if the program advances on schedule. (the-arsenal-report.com) (defensemagazine.com)
