L3Harris from US to deliver 14 Vampire counter drone systems to Ukraine.
The American company L3Harris received a $40 million United States Department of Defense contract to deliver 14 Vehicle Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment or VAMPIRE multi-purpose weapons systems for delivery to the Ukrainian security forces.
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The L3Harris Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment (VAMPIRE) is a portable kit that can be installed on most vehicles with a cargo bed for the launching of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS) or other laser-guided munitions. (Picture source Army Recognition)
The portable VAMPIRE kit will allow Ukraine's ground forces to target and shoot down enemy drones and defend against adversary ground threats. The systems ordered by the United States DoD (Department of Defense) are tailored to provide critical defense assets to help Ukraine protect against attacks on civilian infrastructure.
“We’ve invested in procurement, testing and certification since August so VAMPIRE production can begin without delay,” said Luke Savoie, President, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, L3Harris. “We’re committed to supporting a U.S. strategic partner with a robust capability, as the people of Ukraine continue to defend their country and protect their independence.”
Under the DoD contract, L3Harris will install VAMPIRE kits on U.S. government-provided vehicles for agile combat support to the Ukrainian battlefield. The contract calls for L3Harris to deliver 14 VAMPIRE systems to DoD, with four delivered by mid-2023 and ten more delivered by the end of 2023.
The VAMPIRE prototype, submitted to DoD in April, was selected in August as part of DoD’s $3 billion security assistance package under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. The company began field testing in 2021 and continued range and durability tests in the summer 2022.
The L3Harris Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment (VAMPIRE) is a portable kit that can be installed on most vehicles with a cargo bed for the launching of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS) or other laser-guided munitions.
The L3 Harris Vampire integrates the WESCAM MX-10™- RSTA independent stabilized sighting system to provide ISR (Intelligence Search and Rescue) overmatch.
The APKWS is a laser-guided weapon system designed by BAE Systems which is able to fire the laser-guided Hydra 70mm rocket. The APKWS can destroy aerial targets such as rotary-wing aircraft at a maximum range of 5 km or fixed-wing aircraft at a maximum range of 11 km. The L3Harris Vampire can control and detect aerial threats from 400 to 1,600 m.
