Raytheon’s Coyote Block 2C+RM Tests Sharpen U.S. Counter-Drone Edge With Rocket-Powered Upgrade.

Raytheon has successfully flight-tested its new Coyote Block 2C+RM counter-drone interceptor, with RTX announcing on October 12, 2026, that three developmental tests have validated a fully rocket-powered configuration designed to respond faster to increasingly sophisticated unmanned threats. By replacing the jet-powered sustainment system of current Block 2-series Coyotes with a solid rocket motor, the upgrade promises higher velocity, improved range-related performance, and stronger terminal engagement capability, potentially giving U.S. forces more time and reach to destroy hostile drones before they can threaten troops, bases, and critical assets.

Raytheon has successfully tested its new Coyote Block 2C+RM, an all-rocket-powered counter-drone interceptor designed for faster launches, higher-speed engagements and improved performance against increasingly sophisticated unmanned aerial threats (Picture Source: Raytheon)

The rapidly evolving drone threat is forcing counter-UAS systems to deliver greater speed, shorter reaction times and more capable terminal effects. On October 12, 2026, RTX announced that its Raytheon business had successfully completed three developmental tests of the new Coyote Block 2C+RM, advancing the interceptor from concept to flight testing in only 15 months. The Raytheon-funded program is being developed to support an urgent joint U.S. military requirement to counter increasingly sophisticated unmanned aerial threats, making the achievement strategically significant for the future of American layered air defense.

At the center of the upgrade is a significant evolution in propulsion. RTX officially confirmed that the Coyote Block 2C+RM incorporates a tactical rocket motor designed to deliver faster launch and flight performance. According to remarks by Raytheon Land & Air Defense Systems President Tom Laliberty, the new configuration replaces the jet-powered sustainment architecture used by current Coyote Block 2-series interceptors with a solid rocket motor, effectively transforming the 2C+RM into an all-rocket-powered interceptor. The change is intended to increase velocity, shorten engagement timelines and strengthen the interceptor’s ability to respond to increasingly demanding unmanned aerial threats.

This propulsion architecture represents an important shift toward higher-velocity engagement performance while preserving the proven foundations of the Coyote family. Raytheon has not disclosed specific speed or range figures, maintaining appropriate operational sensitivity around the interceptor’s detailed performance envelope. Laliberty has nevertheless indicated that the propulsion change delivers meaningful improvements in velocity and overall engagement performance, while the upgraded configuration is designed to strengthen the interceptor’s effectiveness during the critical terminal phase of an engagement.

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The propulsion upgrade is being accompanied by a new seeker and warhead designed to defeat all classes of current and emerging drone threats. This combination is particularly important because contemporary counter-UAS operations are no longer defined exclusively by small, slow commercial-type aircraft. Military forces increasingly face faster, more maneuverable and more sophisticated unmanned systems that can compress defensive reaction windows and potentially arrive in coordinated or successive attacks. Higher interceptor velocity can have value beyond simply reaching a target faster: it can compress the engagement timeline, increase the time available for follow-on defensive actions and improve the ability of an air-defense unit to prosecute multiple threats in rapid succession. RTX specifically stated that the tactical rocket motor is intended to improve threat-engagement times and enable faster successive shots.

The three tests also carry significance at the system-of-systems level. According to RTX, the campaign included confirmation of initial integration with the current counter-drone architecture, indicating that Raytheon is pursuing increased performance without abandoning the infrastructure surrounding the existing Coyote family. Current Coyote effectors already operate alongside Raytheon’s Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor, or KuRFS, within the U.S. Army’s Low, slow, small-unmanned aircraft Integrated Defeat System, or LIDS. The combination provides detection, precision tracking and kinetic defeat capability within an integrated counter-UAS architecture. Maintaining a common Coyote backbone while introducing more capable propulsion, sensing and terminal-effect technologies could allow the U.S. military to strengthen its defensive capacity without building an entirely separate engagement architecture around the new interceptor.

This approach could become particularly valuable as the United States confronts the economics and operational complexity of mass drone warfare. The defensive challenge is not simply to intercept one aircraft, but to maintain sufficient engagement capacity, response speed and magazine efficiency when multiple unmanned threats approach a defended force or installation. Coyote’s combat-proven heritage is important: RTX states that existing variants have already intercepted hundreds of drones, giving Raytheon an operationally informed foundation on which to develop the 2C+RM. Rather than pursuing an entirely new weapon from the ground up, Raytheon is applying an accelerated upgrade philosophy to a system already connected to U.S. counter-drone operations, a development model that can help American forces adapt more rapidly as adversary UAS technology continues to evolve.

Raytheon’s successful Coyote Block 2C+RM test campaign represents a notable step in strengthening the United States’ ability to stay ahead of an increasingly demanding unmanned-aircraft threat environment. By combining an all-rocket-powered propulsion configuration with a new seeker, enhanced warhead and initial compatibility with the existing counter-drone architecture, the program is aimed directly at the speed, complexity and compressed engagement timelines associated with emerging UAS threats. Just as importantly, advancing the concept to developmental testing in only 15 months demonstrates Raytheon’s capacity to rapidly evolve combat-proven technology in response to urgent U.S. military requirements. As additional testing matures the design, Coyote Block 2C+RM has the potential to reinforce a critical layer of America’s counter-UAS architecture and provide U.S. service members with a faster and more capable kinetic response to the next generation of aerial threats.

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Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group

Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.