The drone warfare continuum has changed beyond recognition in the last four years and counter-drone systems in particular are being closely examined for aspects of utility, sustainability and affordability that have become paramount. The desire to field systems “at scale” – a euphemism for “let’s ensure we have enough to do the job” – coupled to an imperative for affordable systems – even to the extent of their being ‘attritable’ (disposable) – has resulted in a flurry of developmental activity. Some programmes have reverted to fist principles and started from ‘clean sheet’ design concepts: others have re-examined existing or drawing-board solutions and worked out how to modify, tweak and/or accelerate apposite solutions.
At Farnborough earlier this month Lockheed Martin focused attention on the MORFIUS X-Rotor, the latest iteration of a high-power microwave (HPM)-armed counter-drone system that directly addresses the challenges posed by swarming drone attacks. The company claims the system has the capability to down up to 50 drones in a single engagement, exploiting the ‘deep magazine’ characteristic of HPM weapons that make them so attractive for C-UAS operations.
Designed for recovery in the field, the system is both command- and control-system agnostic and builds on earlier iterations that have undergone flight and systems testing since 2017. At Farnborough, company officials stated it is accelerating prototype production for MORFIUS X-Rotor, which leverages the same family of HPM effectors as its forebears, and is already planning the next series of flight tests.
Weighing under 30 pounds, the reusable drone can be launched from a six-inch launch tube, which offers potential operators a wide range of vehicular, fixed or naval vessel launch platforms. As a component of a putative multi-layered C-UAS defence approach, MORFIUS will bring up to a gigawatt of microwave power (a million microwave ovens is one analogy being used) to the congested air-land battle space. The energy attenuation of microwave power over distance reduces the potential for ‘friendly fire’ casualties but also means MORFIUS – and its future ilk – must close with targets prior to engagement. That resonates well with interception and in-depth defence plans that aim to disrupt or destroy hostile drones before they reach their ordnance or effector release lines.
DA Comment
The claimed ability to defeat up to 50 hostile UAS in a single engagement is undoubtedly the most interesting and attractive characteristic MORFIUS possesses, although sustaining that capability in real-world combat conditions has yet to be proven. Of almost equal interest, however, is its command system agnostic nature. Operational units will be keen to get their hands on exemplars for evaluation, while procurement departments will swiftly be won over by the ‘cost-per-kill’ metric that will form a central part of the vendor’s presentations. MORFIUS X-Rotor appears to be the only current solution on offer that has the ability to deliver that ’50 kills per mission’ metric – and has a strong competitive advantage until other developers catch up or surpass it with an alternative solution. Given the current state of play in the drone warfare community, that might be just around the corner.
Headline image: MORFIUS X-Rotor brings multiple engagement HPM capability to the front line. (Lockheed Martin)
