![A mobile version of the Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Integrated Defense System (LIDS) engages an aerial target during training near Fort Bliss, Texas, October 24, 2022. The fixed-site version (FS-LIDS) can provide stationary support for an installation, asset or site. [US Army National Guard]](/ssc/images/2024/09/25/47642-fs-lids-600_384.webp)
The US Army's fixed site-low, slow, small unmanned aircraft system integrated defeat system (FS-LIDS) is a cutting-edge solution to address the growing threat posed by drones and other unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
LIDS is a complex network of sensors, cameras, electronic warfare equipment, radios and radar.
It includes a forward area air defense command and control, electro-optical infrared camera, mesh-net internet protocol radios, direction-finding sensors and the AN/TPQ-50 multi-mission radar.
LIDS is deployable either as mobile units (M-LIDS) or from fixed, relocatable platforms (FS-LIDS), enabling it to provide stationary support for an installation, asset or site as well as a mobile configuration.
Once a threat is detected, FS-LIDS offers multiple engagement options, such as electronic warfare systems that can jam or disrupt the communications between a drone and its operator, a 30mm chain gun and the Coyote interceptor.
The Coyote interceptor is a family of UAS capable of performing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, as well as striking targets and neutralizing enemy drones.
Coyote Block 2+ interceptors -- jet-engine powered expendable drones with an effective range of up to 15km -- can fly netted together in swarms or deployed as individual aircraft.
It can carry a proximity warhead -- a fuse that detonates automatically when within a certain distance of its target -- able to destroy an enemy drone.
The Coyote can be ground-launched from a pneumatic tube with a maximum speed of 130km per hour and can engage multiple targets simultaneously.
FS-LIDS has been sought abroad for its reliable and advanced counter-UAS capabilities.
In November 2022, the US State Department approved a potential foreign military sale to Qatar for 10 FS-LIDS systems.
The package included 200 Coyote Block 2 interceptors, along with counter-UAS electronic warfare systems and command and control components.
This sale was expected to bolster Qatar's defense capabilities, helping the nation counter the rising UAS threats in the Middle East.
