Kongsberg Adds U.S. Echodyne Radar to PROTECTOR Stations to Turn Remote Turrets Into Drone Hunters.

Kongsberg has integrated Echodyne’s MESA radar with PROTECTOR RS4 and RS6 remote weapon stations to enable radar-supported detection, tracking, and engagement of small drones. The configuration could expand short-range counter-UAS coverage by turning existing weapon stations into distributed sensor-to-effector nodes without requiring dedicated air-defense vehicles.

The MESA radar supplies range, bearing, radial velocity, and target-motion data to Kongsberg’s Collaborative Fire Control architecture while cueing electro-optical sensors and supporting weapons including the RS6-mounted 30 x 113 mm XM914 with programmable airburst ammunition. Designed for static sites, crewed vehicles, and uncrewed platforms, the networked architecture can receive tracks from external surveillance sensors and refine them locally for engagement against low-altitude and low-signature aerial threats.

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Kongsberg’s PROTECTOR RS6 remote weapon station is among the systems selected for integration with Echodyne’s MESA radar to support counter-UAS detection, tracking, and engagement. (Picture source: Kongsberg)

MESA, or Metamaterials Electronically Scanned Array, is based on a compact solid-state radar architecture that steers its beam electronically without a rotating antenna. Echodyne emphasizes reduced size, weight, and power requirements, a relevant factor when integrating additional sensors onto vehicles already carrying multiple electronic systems. The radar provides the measurements required to generate a track that can be used by the fire-control system. Against small drones flying close to terrain or buildings, maintaining track quality is particularly important because these targets can operate in cluttered environments and rapidly change their flight path.

On September 9, 2026, Echodyne confirmed that Kongsberg had selected its MESA platform, including integration with the PROTECTOR RS4 and RS6, following several years of development and field testing. The two companies are presenting the configuration during MSPO 2026 in Kielce, Poland. A surveillance radar or another sensor can provide an initial track to the weapon station, after which MESA refines and maintains it while cueing the electro-optical system and supplying the parameters required for engagement. This approach reflects changes observed in recent conflicts.

In Ukraine, the large-scale use of low-cost drones has created an almost continuous aerial threat over positions, logistical routes and moving formations. The challenge is no longer limited to detecting an airborne object. Forces also require sufficient numbers of sensors and effectors to deal with numerous contacts without routinely using expensive missiles against much cheaper targets. Drones have also reduced the depth of areas that can be considered relatively protected. Vehicles, artillery systems, command posts and convoys can be detected and then attacked by tactical systems available at comparatively low cost. Converting an existing remote weapon station into a C-UAS effector therefore offers a way to increase defensive density without assigning a dedicated air-defense vehicle to every unit.

The PROTECTOR hardware provides an existing platform for this concept. According to Kongsberg, the RS4 offers unrestricted 360-degree azimuth coverage, a traverse rate of up to 90 degrees per second, and an elevation range from minus 20 to plus 60 degrees. It can carry 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, or 12.7 mm weapons as well as 40 mm automatic grenade launchers. The heavier RS6 can integrate the 30 x 113 mm Bushmaster XM914 cannon with a coaxial 7.62 mm M240 machine gun, together with Stinger or Javelin missiles. Kongsberg states that the RS6 can combine Collaborative Fire Control, radar sensors, and programmable airburst ammunition to engage small and medium-sized drones.

Airburst ammunition reduces reliance on achieving a direct hit against a small and maneuvering target. Accurate radar measurements of range and velocity allow the round’s effect to be placed along the drone’s flight path. At the tactical level, the weapon station therefore becomes the final element in a sensor-to-effector chain. A track generated by a surveillance radar can be transferred locally, checked through electro-optical sensors, and then engaged from a crewed vehicle, a fixed position, or an uncrewed ground platform. Such an architecture can shorten the engagement cycle and distribute targets among several effectors. Constraints remain, including the maximum elevation of 60 degrees and the actual ability of a single station to deal with several threats arriving in close succession.

The development of such systems also fits within a broader shift in Western defense priorities. In July 2026, NATO Allies announced more than $40 billion in investments in counter-drone capabilities over five years, explicitly drawing lessons from Ukraine, the Middle East and drone incursions observed around Allied territory. For Kongsberg and Echodyne, the strategic relevance of integrating MESA with PROTECTOR lies in the possibility of converting a large installed base of remote weapon stations into additional layers of short-range air defense. This approach does not replace surveillance radars or dedicated SHORAD systems, but it could increase the number of available firing points while reducing routine reliance on costly missile interceptors. In an operational environment where aerial threats are reaching increasingly small tactical echelons, adapting equipment already in service is becoming an important element of military resilience.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in Security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.