The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded contracts worth £3.16 million to three companies to develop low-cost interceptors designed to defeat drones and other airborne threats, becoming the first of five European nations to issue contracts under a joint air defense initiative.
The contracts were awarded to Frankenberg Technologies, Greenjets and Cambridge Aerospace under the Low-Cost Air Defence Effectors (LCADE) program, which forms part of the wider Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms (LEAP) initiative.
LEAP brings together the UK, Poland, France, Italy and Germany to develop affordable interceptors and autonomous systems in response to the growing use of low-cost drones and missile threats. Each participating nation is running its own competition before moving into a multinational development phase.
According to the MOD, the selected companies will now develop and trial interceptor designs intended to provide a lower-cost alternative to traditional air defense systems, which can be expensive to procure and replenish during large-scale drone attacks.
