Radar technology firm Echodyne has been awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract worth up to $250m to support counter-drone operations under JIATF-401’s Domestic Shield programme.
The agreement spans an ordering period of up to 36 months and establishes a procurement pathway for counter-unmanned aircraft system (c-UAS) capabilities covering force protection, base defence and counter-drone missions both domestically and internationally.
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Echodyne’s MESA radar systems will be listed on the JIATF-401 C-UAS Marketplace, making them accessible to US and allied nation forces.
At the core of Echodyne’s offering is MESA, a proprietary architecture built on metamaterials electronically scanned array technology.
The platform achieves precise electronic beam steering within a compact, solid-state form factor, eliminating much of the size, weight, power and cost burden that conventional high-performance radar entails. Because the architecture is software-defined, it can be updated continuously as drone threats and mission demands evolve.
The company’s EchoShield system, which is built on MESA, is tailored to counter-UAS roles. It maintains persistent target tracks refreshed at 10 Hz and achieves angular accuracy finer than 0.5 degrees across both azimuth and elevation.
Onboard AI and machine-learning algorithms distinguish between drone types, including fixed-wing and multirotor platforms, giving operators and connected effectors reliable classification data.
Echodyne’s products are said to be embedded in hundreds of C-UAS systems deployed across more than 40 countries. The company recently opened an 86,350ft2 production facility in Washington State with annual capacity exceeding 30,000 radars, an investment intended to meet rising demand for high-performance, commercially priced radar at scale.
Echodyne CEO Eben Frankenberg said: “MESA gives operators that precision in a radar they can deploy across missions and platforms. This contract creates a practical path to bring those capabilities to more of the forces and facilities that JIATF-401 supports.”
Separately, Echodyne and Moog completed joint testing of counter-UAS systems in May 2026, validating their ability to detect and engage small UAS under battlefield conditions.
