KONGSBERG Selects Echodyne MESA Radar for Counter-UAS Weapon Systems

Low-SWaP, precision-tracking radar integrated with PROTECTOR RS4 and RS6 remote weapon stations to strengthen detection-to-defeat performance against drones

Echodyne, the radar platform company, today announced that KONGSBERG has selected Echodyne's MESA® radar platform for a range of air and surface applications. Among the first use cases, KONGSBERG has integrated MESA radar into the PROTECTOR RS4 and PROTECTOR RS6 remote weapon stations (RWS), adding the precision radar data needed to turn the world's most widely deployed RWS family into a highly effective counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) effector.

The selection pairs KONGSBERG's proven weapon-station architecture and Collaborative Fire Control capabilities with Echodyne's compact, solid-state radar. The result is a scalable approach for adding high-fidelity detection, tracking and targeting data to static, crewed and uncrewed platforms without the size, weight and power demands traditionally associated with high-performance electronically scanned array radar.

"KONGSBERG has set the standard for remote weapon systems through decades of field experience, disciplined engineering and close collaboration with operators," said Eben Frankenberg, CEO of Echodyne. "Integrating MESA radar gives the PROTECTOR family the precise, stable and persistent tracks needed to cue the fire-control system, sustain target lock and act decisively against fast-moving, low-signature drone threats. Just as important, MESA delivers that performance in a compact, software-defined package that can scale across a large installed base and adapt as the threat evolves."

Precision radar data for the fire-control chain

Radar track quality is fundamental to effective fire control. Echodyne's low-SWaP MESA radar supplies high-fidelity range, range-rate, bearing and kinematic data while maintaining the track stability and persistence needed to compute and execute a firing solution. By stabilizing and cueing the optical fire-control system onto a target, the radar helps the weapon station hold lock longer, shorten the detection-to-engagement timeline and improve hit probability against agile, low-radar-cross-section threats.

That precision is particularly important when PROTECTOR systems employ programmable airburst munitions. Accurate range and range-rate measurements support the timing needed to place the munition's effect at the correct point in the target's flight path. In networked operations, a cooperative search radar or another sensor can pass a threat track to the radar-equipped RWS; the local MESA radar then refines and sustains the track for fire-control use. This search-cue-track-engage workflow allows distributed systems to share the air picture, assign targets and rapidly retarget as threats are defeated.

Validated through a multi-year field program

Echodyne and KONGSBERG have spent multiple years integrating, testing and demonstrating the radar-enabled solution in keeping with KONGSBERG's philosophy to prove capability in the field. Beyond the various PROTECTOR integrations, Echodyne and KONGSBERG are exploring additional uses for high-performance radar across air and surface missions within the KONGSBERG portfolio. The companies expect to continue joint technical work focused on resilient sensing, 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, September 8-11, 2026

About Echodyne

Echodyne, the radar platform company, is a U.S. innovator and manufacturer of advanced radar solutions for defense, government, and commercial markets. The company’s proprietary MESA architecture is a rare technology breakthrough in advanced radar engineering and design. Echodyne’s innovative MESA technology uses standard materials and manufacturing processes to shatter unit-cost barriers for high-performance radar. The result is a solid-state, low-SWaP, exportable commercial radar with advanced software capabilities that delivers exceptional performance, data integrity, and situational awareness. Echodyne radar systems, including C-UAS and drone radars, are used by systems suppliers, integrators, defense supply chains and end users in more than 40 countries. For more information, visit Echodyne.com.

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