U.S. Army Tests Reusable Coyote 3NK Interceptor to Counter Drone Swarms Without Missiles.

Raytheon confirmed on February 11, 2026, that its Coyote Block 3 Non-Kinetic interceptor defeated multiple drone swarms during a U.S. Army demonstration and was recovered for reuse. The test signals a major shift in how the Army plans to counter mass drone attacks without exhausting missile inventories or driving up costs.

Raytheon has just put a hard number on what many air defenders have been demanding since the first mass FPV raids appeared on the modern battlefield: defeat swarms without burning through a missile stockpile. On February 11, 2026, the company announced a successful U.S. Army demonstration of its Coyote Block 3 Non-Kinetic (3NK) interceptor, claiming it defeated multiple drone swarms and was then recovered for reuse. The significance is not only that targets fell, but that the engagement cycle ended with an effector that can potentially be turned around and flown again, a shift from “one shot, one kill” economics toward sustained counter-swarm coverage where cost and magazine depth now decide survival.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

Raytheon's Coyote Block 3NK is a recoverable counter-drone interceptor designed to hunt and disrupt multiple small UAS in a single sortie using a non-kinetic effect, delivering a loitering "airborne magazine" defense against swarm attacks while reducing collateral damage and cutting per-engagement cost (Picture source: Raytheon).

Coyote sits inside the Army’s Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (LIDS), a layered architecture that pairs sensors, command-and-control, and multiple effectors to protect forward bases, logistics hubs, and maneuver formations. Raytheon markets the Coyote family as a detect-and-defeat solution when integrated with its Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor (KuRFS), a radar designed to discriminate small aerial targets from clutter and cue the effector in time to engage fast, low signatures. Within the family, Block 2 represents the traditional hard-kill approach, while Block 3NK is positioned as the “swarm problem” answer: it can loiter, apply a non-kinetic payload to reduce collateral risk, and then be recalled and redeployed rather than expended.

Block 3NK’s defining feature is its non-kinetic defeat mechanism, which Raytheon has not publicly detailed. However, company-released footage described by multiple outlets shows the interceptor racing past target drones that tumble out of the sky without visible collision, blast flash, or fragmentation pattern, a signature consistent with an electromagnetic or electronic defeat effect rather than a proximity warhead. In practical terms, that kind of payload is built for the realities of defending populated areas, critical infrastructure, or friendly troop positions where explosive debris can be as dangerous as the drone itself. It also opens a path to multi-target effects in a single sortie, which is the central economic logic of the system.

The demonstration referenced by Raytheon aligns with the wider push to assess and field counter-small UAS capabilities through events such as Operation Clear Horizon, a joint exercise designed to stress U.S. counter-drone performance against realistic threats and scenarios. Reporting tied to the latest Coyote 3NK trial indicates the system engaged at least 10 drones during Clear Horizon testing in October 2025, then recovered into a net so it could be reused, a detail that underscores a tactical concept closer to “combat air patrol for air defense” than the single-shot logic of most interceptors. This is where 3NK’s role becomes clear: it is an airborne effector meant to thin out swarms, buy time, and preserve higher-end munitions for cruise missiles, rockets, or larger UAS.

From a battlefield commander’s perspective, a recoverable non-kinetic interceptor changes how a defended unit can pace its engagements. Instead of firing one missile per drone until the launcher is empty, a loitering effector can be positioned on likely ingress routes, cued by radar, and tasked to disrupt or disable multiple threats, then return for rapid turnaround. Raytheon has also highlighted recent upgrades that improve launch speed, range, and high-altitude performance across the Coyote line to keep pace with heavier UAS carrying larger payloads and flying longer profiles. Separately, the company has claimed a 50% reduction in recovery-to-return-to-flight timelines for 3NK, which, if replicated in field conditions, would directly translate into higher sustained defensive tempo during repeated attack waves.

Procurement signals suggest this is not a science project. Raytheon says it recently received its largest counter-drone contract to date under the Army’s LIDS program, and reporting around Army contracting shows the service has been scaling purchases in steps, including a $75 million order for 600 Coyote interceptors and a later $197 million award tied to expanding Coyote inventory and support. More significantly, the Pentagon’s long-duration contracting approach culminated in a roughly $5.04 billion ordering vehicle running into 2033 for Coyote effectors, launchers, and KuRFS radars, a strong indicator that the U.S. Army expects sustained operational demand rather than episodic buys. On the export side, Qatar’s approved FS-LIDS package has been publicly documented, and Raytheon has also moved toward local Coyote production with the UAE, pointing to growing allied interest in fieldable counter-swarm defenses.

The strategic backdrop is unavoidable: Ukraine has made small drones the defining attrition tool of modern land warfare, with procurement measured in the millions and individual systems cheap enough to be treated as expendable ammunition. Reporting has indicated plans to purchase millions of FPV drones in a single year, a scale that makes it mathematically impossible to rely on expensive interceptors alone. In that environment, the most valuable counter-UAS systems are those that reset the cost exchange ratio, reduce collateral damage, and sustain high engagement rates under swarm pressure. Coyote Block 3NK’s promise, if validated beyond demonstrations, is a reusable “airborne non-kinetic magazine” that can blunt mass attacks, protect maneuver forces, and keep higher-end air defense missiles reserved for higher-end threats, exactly the kind of pragmatic adaptation today’s battlefield is forcing on every army.

Written by Evan Lerouvillois, Defense Analyst.

Evan studied International Relations, and quickly specialized in defense and security. He is particularly interested in the influence of the defense sector on global geopolitics, and analyzes how technological innovations in defense, arms export contracts, and military strategies influence the international geopolitical scene.