Echodyne, a radar platform company, just announced that KONGSBERG has selected Echodyne’s MESA® radar platform for a wide range of airborne and ground-based applications. Among the first uses, KONGSBERG has integrated the MESA radar into the PROTECTOR RS4 and PROTECTOR RS6 remote weapon stations (RWS), providing the precision radar data needed to make the world’s most widely deployed RWS family a highly effective countermeasure against counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS).

This choice combines KONGSBERG's proven weapon station architecture and collaborative fire control capabilities with Echodyne's compact solid-state radar. The result is a scalable approach to adding high-fidelity target detection, tracking, and selection data to static, manned, or unmanned platforms without the size, weight, and power consumption drawbacks associated with high-performance electronically scanned array radars.

“KONGSBERG has set the standard for remote weapon systems through decades of field experience, rigorous engineering, and close collaboration with operators,” said Eben Frankenberg, CEO of Echodyne. “The integration of the MESA radar brings to the PROTECTOR family the precise, stable, and persistent tracking capability needed to guide the fire control system, maintain target lock, and act decisively against fast-moving, low-signature drone threats. Equally important is that MESA delivers this performance in a compact, software-defined package that can be scaled across a broad installed base and adapted as the threat evolves.”

Precision radar data for the fire control chain

High-quality radar tracking is essential for effective fire control. Echodyne's MESA radar, with its reduced SWaP profile, provides high-fidelity data on range, rate of change of range, heading, and kinematics, while maintaining the stability and tracking persistence necessary to calculate and execute a firing solution. By stabilizing and guiding the optical fire control system toward a target, the radar helps the weapon station maintain lock for longer, reduce the time between detection and engagement, and increase the probability of a hit against agile, low-radar-cross-section threats.

This precision is especially important when PROTECTOR systems employ programmable airburst munitions. Accurate measurements of range and rate of change of range allow for precise timing so that the munition's effect occurs at the correct point in the target's flight path. In networked operations, a cooperative search radar or other sensor can transmit a threat tracking signal to the radar-equipped RWS, which then refines and maintains the tracking for use in fire control. This search, target, track, and attack workflow allows distributed systems to share the aerial picture, assign targets, and rapidly retarget as threats are neutralized.

Validated through a multi-year field program

Echodyne and KONGSBERG have spent several years integrating, testing, and demonstrating the radar-based solution, in line with KONGSBERG's philosophy of demonstrating capabilities in the field. Beyond the various PROTECTOR integrations, Echodyne and KONGSBERG are exploring other applications for the high-performance radar in air and ground missions within KONGSBERG's portfolio. The companies plan to continue their technical collaboration, focusing on resilient detection, networked fire control, and scalable protection against rapidly evolving threats.

Echodyne and KONGSBERG will exhibit at the 34th International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) in Kielce, Poland, from September 8-11, 2026

 

Source: businesswire.com

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