Raytheon Coyote Counter-UAS Effectors and Their Block Variants

The Coyote Family and How the Blocks Differ

Coyote is one family of effectors on a common platform, and Raytheon splits it into three Blocks that differ by payload and by whether the interceptor comes back. Raytheon says the common platform executes a range of missions, including counter-UAS and launched effects. The family carries both kinetic and non-kinetic payloads. It can launch from mobile and fixed-site platforms across land, air and sea.

Raytheon's own variant headings name the split directly: "Coyote Block 2 (kinetic)", "Coyote Block 2C+RM (rocket motor)" and "Coyote Block 3NK (non-kinetic)". Block 2 is expendable and uses a kinetic warhead. Block 2C+RM builds on Block 2 with upgraded propulsion for faster launch and flight, plus a new seeker and a kinetic warhead designed to defeat all classes of current and emerging drone threats.

Block 3NK loiters, defeats drone swarms with a non-kinetic payload, and can be recalled and redeployed.

If you are sorting the variants for a program or portfolio view, split them first by kinetic or non-kinetic payload, then by expendable or recallable. Raytheon describes Block 2 as expendable and Block 3NK as recallable. It does not say whether Block 2C+RM is recovered after an engagement, so the table marks that as unpublished.

Block 2 and the Combat Record

Coyote Block 2 is Raytheon's expendable counter-UAS interceptor, and it uses a kinetic warhead to defeat drones of various sizes with precision. Raytheon says Block 2 has intercepted hundreds of drones. Paired with the Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor (KuRFS), it provides what Raytheon calls rapid and reliable protection as part of the US Army's Low, slow, small, unmanned aircraft Integrated Defeat System (LIDS).

Raytheon calls the system combat proven and says it pairs with numerous fielded sensors, effectors and command and control systems. The word "hundreds" is the only intercept figure Raytheon gives. Neither page offers an exact count, a date range or a breakdown by target type.

That limits what the record can prove for an investor or analyst. "Hundreds of intercepts" shows Block 2 has been used against drones many times. It does not show an intercept rate, a cost per kill, or how Block 2 performs against a named threat class such as the Shahed-136 / Geran-2.

To compare Block 2 with a rival, you need a published intercept count and engagement range, and Raytheon publishes neither.

Block 3NK and Why a Recallable Interceptor Matters

Coyote Block 3NK is a loitering counter-UAS variant that defeats drone swarms with a non-kinetic payload and can then be recalled and redeployed for additional engagements. Raytheon says the non-kinetic payload minimizes the potential for collateral damage. Block 3NK is the only variant on Raytheon's current page that Raytheon describes as reusable.

Recall matters because an expendable interceptor is used up on every engagement, whatever the target, which is the gap our cost-per-intercept page sets out. A Block 3NK that returns after an engagement can fly again, while a Block 2 cannot.

Raytheon does not publish how many times a Block 3NK can be redeployed, how long it can loiter, or what its non-kinetic payload is. Without those figures, the reuse advantage cannot be turned into a cost per engagement. For another recoverable design, see our Anduril Roadrunner profile, and for a modular interceptor, see Anduril Steelfin.

Where Raytheon Coyote Sits in the Army's LIDS

Coyote pairs with KuRFS to deliver detect-and-defeat capabilities, and Raytheon says that integration forms a key component of the US Army's LIDS. Raytheon says the pairing works against unmanned aircraft systems from single drones to swarms.

Raytheon's counter-UAS portfolio includes Coyote, KuRFS and the High-Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS). HELWS is the portfolio's directed-energy option. Raytheon lists all three on its counter-UAS solutions page.

Raytheon does not publish how many LIDS units exist, which Coyote Block each one fires, or any contract tied to them. For other systems in the same category, see our counter-UAS overview and anti-drone systems guide.

Launch Domains and the Launched-Effects Mission

Coyote can be launched from mobile and fixed-site platforms across land, air and sea, according to Raytheon's Coyote page. Raytheon names no specific vehicle, ship or aircraft that carries it. The same page says Coyote pairs with numerous fielded sensors, effectors and command and control systems. Until Raytheon names a launch platform, the all-domain statement describes the design. It gives you no list of integrated platforms to count.

Raytheon calls Coyote a family of effectors built on a common platform that runs a range of missions. Counter-unmanned aircraft systems (counter-UAS) is one of those missions, and launched effects is the second one Raytheon names. Raytheon does not define the launched-effects mission or publish any launched-effects variant, test or contract on either page. Coyote carries both kinetic and non-kinetic payloads.

Watch the Coyote page for a launched-effects award before you count that mission in any view of RTX.

Raytheon says its kinetic and non-kinetic Coyote counter-UAS variants defeat small to large target drones at longer ranges and higher altitudes than similar class effectors. Raytheon publishes no range or altitude figure behind that claim. It also names no effector it is comparing Coyote against. A published range and altitude, set against a named rival, would turn the claim into something you can test.

Raytheon's Counter-UAS Solutions page lists Coyote alongside the Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor (KuRFS) and the High-Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS). Our counter-UAS overview covers the other interceptor approaches in the field.

One Name, Two Aircraft

Raytheon's Coyote page describes two different aircraft under one name. Its page metadata describes the Coyote unmanned aircraft system as an expendable system deployed from an A-size sonobuoy tube or Common Launch Tube to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions while the host aircraft remains in safe airspace.

Its page body describes a low-cost, rail-launched missile upgrade with a boost rocket motor and a turbine engine for high-speed counter-UAS missions.

Those two descriptions cover two jobs and two launch methods. One is a tube-launched ISR drone flying for a host aircraft. The other is a rail-launched interceptor built to defeat drones. The Coyote name covers a lineage of aircraft rather than a single airframe.

Two Coyote write-ups can disagree for this reason. A source quoting the metadata will describe a reconnaissance drone, and a source quoting the body will describe an interceptor. Neither description carries a date on the page. Before you rely on any Coyote detail, note which description it draws on, and read the Block headings on the Raytheon Coyote page to see the counter-UAS variants.

What Raytheon Does Not Publish

Raytheon publishes no unit price, cost, range, speed, altitude, weight, warhead mass or endurance figure for any Coyote variant, on either of its two pages. Raytheon claims Coyote variants defeat small to large drones at longer ranges and higher altitudes than similar class effectors. That claim is comparative, and Raytheon gives no number to back it.

The gaps go past performance. Raytheon gives no exact intercept count beyond "hundreds", and no dated contract value, award date or quantity. It does not say which Blocks are in production, fielded or in test, and it gives no delivery schedule.

Readers searching for Coyote Block 1 will find that block is not described on Raytheon's current pages, which cover only Block 2, Block 2C+RM and Block 3NK.

The figures that would let you compare Coyote with any other effector are unit cost, engagement range, intercept altitude and the production status of each Block, and Raytheon leaves all four off both pages. A published price or a dated contract would settle the cost question, and a stated range would settle the performance comparison.

Until one appears, compare Coyote with other makers on what is published using our counter-drone companies list, and watch the Raytheon Coyote page for added figures.