Defense contractor Raytheon claims to have successfully tested a reusable version of its Coyote counter-drone system for the US Army. It is aimed at addressing an increasing issue for commanders: namely, how to fight a drone swarm without relying on large numbers of expensive interceptors.
On February 11, 2026, Raytheon declared that its Coyote Block 3 Non-Kinetic (3NK) drone hunter had defeated drone swarms during a recent Army demonstration that showed that it can be recovered and reused.
Video shared by Raytheon shows what that looks like. The Coyote interceptor launches from its ground support unit and then races past target drones, whereupon the drones tumble from the sky almost immediately. The aircraft do not collide and there are no visible explosions. According to Raytheon, the system knocked out at least 10 drones during Operation Clear Horizon trials in October 2025, before landing in a recovery net so it could be reused.
Raytheon calls the system “non-kinetic,” which in simple terms means that it brings drones down without a traditional blast or direct hit. The company has not publicly described the exact method used by the 3NK variant.
Swarms punish defenders by forcing them to fire many projectiles. A system that can take out an entire swarm without firing a single shot, then return and fly another mission, could help stretch limited inventories and lower the cost of defending against repeated drone swarm waves.
This is not the first time that Coyote has demonstrated this basic concept. In 2021, Raytheon declared that the army had used a Coyote Block 3 non-kinetic system to engage and defeat a swarm of 10 drones in a test, and that the vehicle was recovered, refurbished, and reused during the same event.
What is new now is the push to present 3NK as something that the military can field in large numbers and at lower cost.
Raytheon is tying the work to the US Army’s broader counter-drone effort known as Low, slow, small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (LIDS). Raytheon expects higher production across the Coyote family later in 2026.