Coyote
Raytheon Technologies' tube-launched counter-drone effector; a new non-kinetic reusable variant demonstrated in 2026 can engage drone swarms, return to base, recharge, and redeploy.
Last refreshed: 30 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can a reusable non-kinetic Coyote make counter-drone intercepts economically viable at scale?
Timeline for Coyote
Demonstrated in reusable non-kinetic configuration capable of engaging swarms and returning to base
Drones: Industry & Defence: RTX demos reusable Coyote against swarms- What is the Raytheon Coyote drone interceptor?
- The Coyote is a family of tube-launched counter-drone effectors made by Raytheon Technologies. The latest non-kinetic reusable variant, demonstrated in April 2026, can intercept drone swarms, return to base, recharge, and redeploy, addressing the cost-per-engagement problem of kinetic-only intercept.Source: Motley Fool
- Is Coyote being sold to the UAE?
- Yes. On 21 April 2026, RTX disclosed that a Foreign Military Sales case had been approved for Coyote counter-drone sales to the United Arab Emirates, opening a Gulf export market as UAE forces process one of the largest operational drone intercept datasets in history.Source: Motley Fool
- Why does the reusable Coyote matter for counter-drone economics?
- A kinetic Coyote is consumed on each intercept, costing tens of thousands of dollars per engagement against drones that can cost under $500 each. The reusable variant can be recovered, recharged, and reused, sharply reducing per-engagement cost and making it economically viable to intercept large swarms.Source: Motley Fool
- What share of Raytheon's revenue comes from counter-drone weapons?
- RTX reported in April 2026 that effectors, including counter-drone systems, exceeded 40% of Raytheon segment sales with double-digit growth in Q1 2026.Source: Motley Fool
Background
The Coyote is a family of tube-launched, expendable counter-drone effectors developed by Raytheon Technologies (RTX) under the Raytheon Intelligence and Space division. The original Coyote Block 1 is a small, expendable UAS interceptor that can be launched from ground vehicles, ships, or other platforms. On 21 April 2026 RTX reported on its Q1 earnings call that a new non-kinetic, reusable Coyote variant had been demonstrated successfully: the system engaged a drone swarm, returned to base under its own power, recharged, and was redeployed for a second engagement. An FMS case (a US government-brokered defence export) was also approved for Coyote sales to the United Arab Emirates.
The reusable Coyote variant is the first declared response to the cost-per-engagement problem that has defined the C-UAS field in 2025 and 2026. Where a kinetic Coyote is consumed on each intercept, the reusable variant can be recovered, recharged, and reused, sharply reducing the per-engagement cost against drone swarms that may number in the hundreds. RTX also disclosed that effectors exceeded 40% of Raytheon segment sales with double-digit growth in Q1, underlining the commercial significance of the C-UAS line.
Coyote competes in the same enterprise C-UAS market as Fortem Technologies' DroneHunter and Anduril's Lattice-integrated effectors. The UAE FMS approval opens a Gulf export market at the moment when Gulf States are processing the largest drone intercept datasets in history following Iran's campaign since February 2026. The reusability demonstration directly answers the economic critique of kinetic C-UAS at scale: a single-use interceptor at $20,000-$30,000 per unit is economically unsustainable against a $300 drone swarm.
