L3Harris: Turn Tactical Radios into Counter-Drone Systems

AN/PRC-171 (RF-9820S) Compact Team Radio | Image: L3 Harris

L3Harris Technologies has announced a new software capability intended to turn existing tactical radios into artificial intelligence-enabled counter-drone sensing and disruption systems for military forces operating in contested environments.

The company said the software, called Wraith Shield, is designed to help troops detect, identify and disrupt small unmanned aerial systems, including commercially available first-person view drones adapted for attack missions. The capability is scheduled for deployment later this year on the RF-9820S Compact Team Radio, also designated the AN/PRC-171, and on the RF-9820S-ER embeddable radio system.

According to L3Harris, the software could later be introduced as an upgrade for more than 100,000 Wraith-capable tactical radios already fielded by U.S., NATO, Five Eyes and allied forces, including the AN/PRC-158C, AN/PRC-163 and AN/PRC-167 systems.

The company described the capability as part of a layered air defense approach intended to counter a growing range of drone threats, including both larger unmanned systems and low-cost commercial drones used in attack roles.

“It enables operators to disrupt hostile drone signals directly from their radios. With the press of a button, personnel can neutralize attritable unmanned systems, causing them to drop from the sky,” said Chris Aebli, President, Mission Critical Communications, L3Harris.

L3Harris said the software introduces AI-enabled radio frequency sensing capabilities that allow tactical radios to function as distributed sensors within networked air defense systems.

““Our new Wraith Shield capability has been designed to seamlessly integrate with and enhance existing air defense systems by adding thousands of distributed sensors,” said Rob Mariuz, Director, Product Management, L3Harris.

L3Harris also partnered with DataShapes AI to develop a visualization capability designed to provide personnel with real-time information about radio frequency activity in their area.

“This capability closes the gap between sensing and action in a way that directly impacts survivability on the battlefield,” said Paul Craft, President of DataShapes AI and former U.S. Army Chief of Cyber and EW.