Counter-drone hardware rarely fails because it can't hit the target. More often the problem is the exchange rate. Australian Defence Magazine framed it this week in its coverage of Northrop Grumman: an Iranian Shahed worth "maybe $50,000" can be shot down with a Patriot PAC-3 missile costing upwards of US$4 million. Firing one at the other is an 80-to-1 trade that no defender can afford against massed raids.

That arithmetic ran through a cluster of counter-UAS announcements covered by Australian trade press this week, and through a Slovak debut at ADEX 2026 in Baku. Three are new or upgraded effectors and the fourth is a complete integrated package. They differ in form, but all four are attempts to make each kill cheaper.

Raid Hunter: a guided 50mm round priced in the thousands

According to Australian Defence Magazine, Northrop Grumman's Raid Hunter pairs an XM913 chain gun with a new guided, proximity-fuzed 50x228mm round. The system is described as firing out to around 10 km. The gun is tied into Northrop's AiON command-and-control software, which tracks threats through connected sensors that, per ADM, could be any radar system.

The headline figure is the price. Kenn Todorov, a Northrop Grumman vice president and general manager, put production cost "roughly in the mid-single digit thousands of US dollars," which ADM reports as US$3,000-7,000 per shot. Todorov said an operator could fire two, three or perhaps four rounds per threat.

Run the numbers at the extremes and the case holds up. Two rounds at the low estimate cost about US$6,000. Four rounds at the high estimate cost about US$28,000. Even that worst case is below the roughly $50,000 ADM cites for a Shahed, and it is a small fraction of a single PAC-3. Gun-based defence has always argued that ammunition is cheaper than missiles. A guided round tries to keep that cost advantage while improving the hit rate that limits unguided cannon fire at longer range.

The programme is still early. Ballistic trials at the Potomac River Test Range in Dahlgren, Virginia, in mid-September validated the projectile's performance, according to ADM's report. Todorov said Northrop sees an operational prototype in July or August 2027. He said the company has a high level of interest from the US Army's integrated air and missile defence mission and from the US Air Force. Neither has been described as a contract.

AERIE: interceptors by the container-load

Rheinmetall Defence Australia and Praetorian Aeronautics went after magazine depth. Their AERIE system (Autonomous-Engagement-Rapid-Interceptor-Effector) is a containerised counter-UAS launcher that packs into a 20ft ISO shipping container and can house 20 or more interceptors, ADM reported.

The partners describe the launcher as interceptor-agnostic. The demonstrator uses Praetorian's Arrow Interceptor and its Hadrian C2 software. ADM says the partnership delivered a prototype from concept within 12 months, and the system is scheduled to move to full operator demonstrations in Q4 2026. Rheinmetall Defence Australia managing director Nathan Poyner and Praetorian CEO Brett Hill are both quoted on the programme.

An ISO container is a logistics choice as much as a weapon design, since it is a standard freight format. A magazine of 20-plus interceptors addresses the other half of the raid problem: having enough shots on hand when many drones arrive at once.

Slinger moves to Huntsville

EOS Defense Systems USA plans to expand production at its Huntsville, Alabama facility to build the next-generation Slinger counter-drone remote weapon system, Defence Connect reported. US production is due to start in 2027. The system is described as in the final stages of development.

The new Slinger adds enhanced sensing and autonomous kill-chain functionality, with selectable autonomy. Like the current Slinger, it is fully stabilised so it can engage while on the move. CEO Shawn Baerlocher is quoted in the report, part of which is paywalled. EOS says it has built remote weapon systems since the 1990s and delivered more than 3,500 worldwide. Moving production to the US places a gun-based counter-drone station closer to the American market that Raid Hunter is also courting.

Ares Shield: the whole stack from Slovakia

In Baku, the Slovak firm Kolarms showed Ares Shield at ADEX 2026 (30 September-2 October), Janes reported. Company representative Bálint Baranyai told Janes it is intended to give customers a complete C-UAV package rather than a collection of individual systems. That sets it apart from the single-effector announcements above.

The complex combines radar and electro-optical sensors, electronic countermeasures, interceptor UAVs and a gun turret. The company's figures:

  • Radar: an X-band surveillance set (model unspecified), vehicle- or tripod-mounted, with a maximum instrumented range of 48 km. It detects a 10x10 cm target at up to 3 km and a 20x20 cm target at up to 6 km. It draws 12-36 V at 2-6 A, with 165 mW RF output.
  • Jammer: vehicle-mounted, with a claimed directional reach of 2-4 km and an omnidirectional radius of about 1.5 km.
  • Hard kill: the I2 Defender interceptor UAV and the Nemesis gun turret.

The radar figures deserve a careful read. The 48 km figure is the instrumented range, not a detection range against small targets. Against the small targets the company specifies, its own numbers are 3-6 km. All of these are manufacturer claims, as given in company documentation, not independently tested results.

Why It Matters

The four systems approach the same problem from different angles. Raid Hunter lowers the cost of each shot. AERIE increases the number of interceptors available in one place. Slinger moves a stabilised gun station with selectable autonomy into US production. Ares Shield bundles sensors, jamming and two kinds of hard kill so the customer does not have to integrate them.

What they share is a rejection of the PAC-3-versus-Shahed exchange that ADM's opening comparison illustrates. Air defenders have learned that a cheap drone does not need to get through to succeed. It only needs to force the defender to spend more than the drone cost. A guided gun round in the low thousands of dollars, a container of interceptors and electronic jamming that avoids expending a munition on every threat all aim to reverse that economics.

None of these systems is described as in service. Raid Hunter's prototype is about a year away. AERIE's operator demonstrations have not yet taken place. The next-generation Slinger is still in final development. Ares Shield's performance figures come from the company. The pricing and range claims have to survive operational testing before anyone can judge whether the cost-per-kill argument holds up in practice.

Sources