Australia Unveils Slinger Counter-Drone Weapon as LAND 156 Trials Highlight New Layered Defense.

Australia publicly demonstrated a new counter-small drone capability at Cultana that pairs Leidos integration with the EOS Slinger hard kill system. The trial signals a major step in Australia’s plan to field a layered, continuously updated defense against the skyrocketing threat of small unmanned aircraft.

Electro Optic Systems (EOS) announced on 08 December 2025, that Australia has publicly demonstrated a new integrated counter small unmanned aerial system capability at the Cultana training area in South Australia in trials covered exclusively by 7NEWS. The event showcased a Leidos Australia-led solution under Project LAND 156, with EOS providing its Slinger counter-drone remote weapon system as the kinetic hard-kill component.
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Slinger remote weapon station with M230LF 30 mm gun, airburst ammo, radar, and EO sensors stabilized, on-the-move hard kill protection against small drones and loitering munitions for mobile and fixed sites (Picture source: EOS).

At the heart of the demonstration is Slinger, a compact, fully stabilized remote weapon station built around the Bushmaster M230LF 30 x 113 mm chain gun, derived from the turret family of EOS R400 systems. The mount weighs roughly 350 to 400 kg and sits less than a meter high, making it suitable for 4x4 vehicles, tracked platforms, or fixed sites without compromising mobility or silhouette. The gun is fed with proximity fuze high-explosive fragmentation ammunition optimized for airburst against small drones, with around 150 ready rounds carried and selectable rates of fire to conserve ammunition during swarm engagements.

Slinger’s sensor suite is what turns a light 30 mm gun into a dedicated drone killer. An Echodyne EchoGuard 4D electronically steered radar provides initial detection and tracking of low signature targets, typically detecting small multi-rotor systems beyond a kilometer while also providing several kilometers of coverage for larger vehicles and personnel. A separate four-axis electro-optical sight unit, with a day camera and thermal imager that can identify objects out past 12 to 13 km, is decoupled from the gun in elevation and azimuth, allowing continuous tracking and classification even during violent maneuvers.

Slinger is engineered for on-the-move engagements. The stabilization and pointing algorithms, refined in earlier trials at Australia’s Klondyke range and in overseas counter-UAS sandbox events, keep the reticle on target over rough terrain, enabling convoy escort or maneuver brigade protection rather than static base defense alone. EOS has recently added aided target recognition and higher levels of automation, giving the system enough processing intelligence to sift drones from clutter, cue the gunner, and manage fire solutions against swarms where human operators alone would be overwhelmed.

The Land 156 trials at Cultana are about more than a single weapon station. Canberra has committed roughly 1.3 billion Australian dollars over the next decade to build a layered, continuously updated counter-drone architecture, with at least 120 systems already fielded or contracted across handheld detectors, jammers, vehicle-mounted sensors, and fixed site solutions. Leidos Australia, as a systems integrator, is fusing effectors like Slinger with Australian-developed command and control, such as Acacia Systems’ Cortex mission management system, plus third-party sensors from companies including DroneShield and Dedrone.

For the Australian Army, that translates into a very specific tactical playbook. Around forward operating bases and RAAF airfields, Slingers cued by distributed radar and RF sensors will provide the last kinetic layer over soft kill jamming, engaging one-way attack drones and FPV loitering munitions before they reach parked aircraft, fuel farms, or command posts. Along ground lines of communication, the same turrets on Bushmaster or Hawkei-style vehicles can travel with logistics convoys, picking off reconnaissance quadcopters and strike drones that today generate a disproportionate share of artillery and missile casualties on modern battlefields.

In the maritime and homeland security roles, the same architecture could be parked around critical infrastructure or deployed for major events, including the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, where the government has already signaled that Land 156 capabilities may provide aerial perimeter security. Slinger’s relatively low engagement cost, measured in tens or hundreds of dollars per burst compared to six-figure missile shots, is central to making that feasible at scale and to matching the economics of cheap commercial drones.

The demonstration also sits within a broader EOS portfolio that includes the Titanis system, combining soft kill electronic warfare, high energy laser effectors up to roughly 35 to 54 kW, and conventional weapons into a full detect to defeat suite against drones up to 600 kg. While Cultana focused on the gun-based layer, the clear trajectory is toward a mix of jamming, dazzlers, and laser burn through for low collateral engagements, with Slinger reserved for hard kill when other measures fail.

Strategically, the Cultana trials underline that Australia is absorbing hard lessons from Ukraine, where drone tactics and countermeasures cycle every few months. Slinger is a core building block in a national, sovereign counter-drone ecosystem designed to protect Australian troops and bases at home and, if required, project a credible counter-UAS shield into coalition operations across the Indo-Pacific.