29OCT

Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait buy drone defences

2 min read

17:49UTC

Raytheon won $729m to supply the US Army's counter-drone kit to Qatar and Jordan, and Kuwait bought a £370m system from MARSS, built in Bristol.

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ConflictAssessed

Key takeaway

Qatar and Jordan bought US Army counter-drone kit, while Kuwait added a £370m British system.

Qatar and Jordan will defend their bases with counter-drone kit from the US Army's own programme. Raytheon won $729m of contracts on 13 October for the Low, Slow, Small-Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (LIDS), the US Army's system for detecting and destroying small drones, covering the US Army, Qatar and Jordan⁠¹.

Raytheon's parent, RTX, calls them the first international sales of its KuRFS (Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor), a radar built to spot small, low, slow targets, and of the Coyote interceptor, which it says has made "hundreds of intercepts in combat"⁠².

Kuwait bought an air-defence system against drones and other airborne threats for £370m from MARSS, owned by Australia's Electro Optic Systems (EOS), Britain's defence ministry said on 9 October⁠³. MARSS will tie jammers, radars and interceptors together through its NiDAR command software, with production in Bristol and 100 new jobs. Minister Luke Pollard called it "a clear demonstration of the UK delivering on its promise to support our regional partners". EOS signed a laser letter of intent with the Netherlands in September.

Kuwait already has US approval for a $1.98bn counter-drone purchase with Anduril as prime contractor. The MARSS award gives it a second integrator.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Gulf states have faced attacks from drones and missiles and want better protection for bases, cities and oil plants. Qatar and Jordan are buying parts of the US Army's own anti-drone system, including a radar that spots small, low targets and the Coyote, a small missile-like drone that rams attackers. Kuwait bought an air-defence system against drones from MARSS, a British company owned by an Australian firm. MARSS will connect radars, jammers that block drone signals, and interceptors so operators see and act through one control system.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

The Raytheon award bundles components for the US Army, Qatar and Jordan in fixed-site and mobile versions. Buying through one US contract gives the two Gulf customers American production scale they could not order alone.

Kuwait chose a single prime to integrate many sensors and effectors. That reflects a threat that changes faster than any one product line; an integrator can swap a jammer or interceptor without rebuilding the command layer.

What could happen next?

Consequence
Coyote production must now cover US Army demand plus Qatari and Jordanian orders.
Short term · Reported
Risk
Kuwait may run counter-drone systems from two integrators, which would add integration work between their software.
Medium term · Assessed
Opportunity
First export sales give KuRFS and Coyote a reference for further Gulf buyers.
Medium term · Suggested

Source Landscape

This story draws on neutral-leaning sources

Primary parallel: After the 1991 Gulf War, Kuwait and other Gulf states bought Patriot, the same air-defence system the US Army fielded, so their batteries could work alongside American ones. Buying the US programme of record has long been The Gulf's route to interoperability.

Counter-parallel: In September 2019 drones and cruise missiles struck Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq and Khurais plants despite Saudi Arabia's Patriot batteries. Defences built for ballistic missiles missed low, slow targets, which is the gap LIDS and the MARSS network are bought to close.

Immediate: RTX published no split of the $729m by customer or quantity. The Kuwaiti award creates 100 jobs in Bristol, according to Britain's defence ministry.

Structural: MARSS belongs to Electro Optic Systems, whose earlier laser letter of intent with the Netherlands shows the same parent selling to Europe and The Gulf. Profit from a British-made Gulf export therefore flows to an Australian-listed group.

Consensus view: RTX's Tom Laliberty calls Coyote 'a proven and cost-effective layer of defense', and RTX says it is accelerating production of the Coyote family. Selling through the US Army's own programme gives Qatar and Jordan kit that matches American units, with shared spares and training.

Counter-view: Britain sold Kuwait's system under Taskforce Sabre, a UK effort to help Gulf states buy quickly after Iranian missile and drone attacks. MARSS chief executive Johannes Pinl says integration runs through 2027, so the integrator model buys flexibility across vendors at the cost of a longer build.

Key tension: Whether Coyote output can serve the US Army and two new foreign customers at once.

First Reported In

Update #19 · China puts drone-part exports under licence

RTX· 26 Oct 2026

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Causes and effects

Caused by

Kuwait armed the day Iran hit it

Kuwait's approved $1.98bn Anduril counter-drone buy preceded its second integrator award to MARSS.

Occurred 6 Jun 2026

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This Event

Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait buy drone defences

Two Arab states now buy the US Army's own counter-drone components, and Kuwait has added a British integrator beside its American one.

Different Perspectives

United States (Joint Maritime Information Center)

The JMIC, the US-led naval reporting cell, rated the Hormuz threat "severe" in its 25 October advisory, as reported by gCaptain, and warned of possible renewed mining. Eight days earlier it found no substantiation for the Guards' mine claims, while US-facilitated transits ran at about 34 a day.

United Kingdom (CPS and Counter Terrorism Policing)

The CPS charged two men under the National Security Act 2023 over the RAF Fairford incident, and Counter Terrorism Policing said it believes the foreign intelligence service involved is Iran's, LBC reported. The case now runs through the courts; both men are charged, not convicted.

Aden and Yemen's recognised government

The Houthis told people to leave Aden airport, in the government-held south, before a missile fell there on 28 October, AFP reported, and police reported a second attack that afternoon. The fight between Riyadh and the Houthis is landing on the south's main civilian airport.

Qatar (mediators)

Qatar-led mediators put new terms to Iran this week, which an Iranian official called "ideas, not a proposal". Riyadh framed the Tehran meeting as support for Qatari and Pakistani mediation, keeping Doha at the centre of the indirect channel.

Korea Shipowners' Association

The association said the ships Iran listed were sub-chartered to an overseas oil company, not owned by Sinokor, carried no South Korean crew, and that Sinokor was unaware of the warning. South Korea's shipowners are contesting whose vessels the notice covers before it takes effect.

Kuwait (foreign ministry)

Kuwait summoned Iran's ambassador, Mohammad Toutounji, and handed him a protest note over the embassy's denial that its citizen took part in the alleged plot against Interior Minister Fahad Al-Yousef. Kuwait is answering through its courts and a diplomatic protest, citing international law and the UN Charter.

Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.