As an agile and trusted company, we are organized and led to react quickly to emerging requirements for our military customers. Through rapid prototyping, DRS delivers advanced operational capabilities quickly to meet the challenges of an ever-changing security environment.
In 2018, we met the challenge to help design, develop, integrate, and test an urgently needed mobile Counter Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) capability. Responding to a Joint Urgent Operational Need (JUON), DRS was selected to serve as the lead vehicle integrator for the U.S. Army’s Mobile, Low, Slow, Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (M-LIDS) program. DRS, working with our customer and other industry partners, delivered the capability in record time. Today, M-LIDS vehicles are protecting U.S. forces around the world where the potential threat is most active.
To deliver M-LIDS rapidly, DRS worked closely with the U.S. Army customer and industry partners to design, develop, integrate, test, and deliver this complex two-vehicle mobile C-UAS capability. The capability integrates several sophisticated technologies to detect, identify, track, and defeat Group 1, 2 and 3 UAS with both kinetic and non-kinetic technologies.
The enemy UAS threat is evolving quickly and through our agile approach, we are always focused on customer requirements to improve the M-LIDS capability. Through rapid prototyping and accelerated testing, the government-industry team, led by DRS, remains laser-focused on supporting deployed systems while improving system-level performance and reliability.
And recognizing an opportunity to deliver a better variant of M-LIDS, DRS, with several industry partners, led an internal investment effort to design, develop, integrate, and test a Stryker variant of M-LIDS. In less than eight months, the team moved quickly through design and integration to complete a live-fire test. After the rapid prototype testing, U.S. Army leaders decided to transition to the M-LIDS Stryker, improving system-level performance and reliability while also reducing program costs. Protecting soldiers is always a top priority, and through our agile processes, strong leadership, empowered employees, and responsible application of available resources, our soldiers will be better protected in the future.
Leonardo DRS’ agility is not unique to this urgent mobile C-UAS program. We have a long history of delivering innovative technologies quickly. Delivering sophisticated EO/IR sensors, thermal weapons sights, modernized tactical heavy bridging, water and fuel distribution systems, and aircraft loaders, DRS has a documented history of thinking through challenges to deliver high-quality technologies that meet, or exceed, user-defined requirements.
The company is very comfortable operating in a rapid prototyping and accelerated acquisition environment. While delivering technologies and supporting customers, DRS continues to assess enemy threats and emerging requirements. Through agility and responsiveness, we have earned a reputation as a trusted industry partner providing customers with options to meet future requirements. In a budget-constrained environment, this customer-industry collaboration ensures warfighters have the best capabilities at the right time.
We understand our customers are the brave men and women of the Armed Services, and our commitment to protecting them from our nation’s enemies is unwavering. DRS remains agile and responsive to meet our customers’ requirements, and M-LIDS is one of several examples of that agility and responsiveness. Drones are becoming more capable and more dangerous every day, and DRS is stands ready to counter those increased threats, because failure in combat is not an option.