Leidos has rebranded its C-UAS solution under the new name AirShield. The system, which has undergone successful testing, is designed to offer enhanced air defence against UAS, with both kinetic and non-kinetic effectors. The rebranding comes as Leidos aims to differentiate AirShield from other C-UAS options available on the market.
AirShield is developed to provide comprehensive air defence, particularly in dynamic and fluid operational settings. The system features advanced threat assessment capabilities and operates as a multi-layered defence system, capable of detecting, tracking, classifying and neutralising UAS threats.
Derrick Birdsell, AirShield program manager at Leidos, highlighted the system’s adaptability to emerging threats:
“The threat from unmanned systems is constantly growing and evolving. AirShield is poised to integrate into existing systems and adapt as technology advances. We’re excited to be able to offer our AirShield architecture’s ability to integrate additional effectors for a variety of customers. It really highlights the versatility our team can bring to advance this technology into an adaptable system as the threat changes.”
Leidos plans to enhance AirShield with various effectors, such as its Co-axial Unmanned Guided Autonomous Rotorcraft (CUGAR), showcased in previous demonstrations.
Birdsell added:
“Our CUGAR effector, showcased last year at the MFIX demo, is our current effector. We plan to augment it with the APKWS [Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System] missile system to boost its effectiveness. Additionally, we have the ability to easily integrate with other effectors including high-energy lasers, turret-mounted guns and even high-powered microwave systems.”
AirShield also incorporates Trusted Mission AI, enabling it to autonomously pair weapons with threats through an AI-driven approach. Leidos continues to explore how machine learning and further AI developments can enhance the system’s capabilities. In addition, cyber resilience remains a key focus for AirShield’s ongoing development, with plans to integrate both offensive and defensive cyber strategies to combat cyber threats.
Originally developed under the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Mobile Force Protection (MFP) program, AirShield’s success led to its transition to the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Aviation and Missile Centre. Multiple prototypes have been built and tested in live-fire exercises, and Leidos plans to field AirShield with U.S. Southern Command in 2025. Additionally, a production line is being set up to deliver systems to future customers as early as 2025.
