The next front in drone defense is mobile and multi-domain. Small unmanned threats no longer stay within one arena; they hop from highways to harbors and rooftops with surprising ease. L3Harris is answering that challenge with a new generation of its counter-drone system, expanding variants that span land, sea, air and electronic warfare.
Recent Trends
- Multi-domain counter-UAS investments rise in defense budgets
- AI-enabled threat detection becomes standard in C-UAS
- Europe and allied partners expand maritime drone defenses
The family at the center remains the VAMPIRE system — vehicle-agnostic modular palletized ISR rocket equipment. It uses laser-guided rockets to destroy drones and can be mounted in truck beds for rapid field deployment. The updated lineup introduces dedicated variants for different theaters: VAMPIRE Black Wake for maritime use, VAMPIRE Bat for protecting facilities, and VAMPIRE Casket as a self-contained unit for remote locations. Across variants, the aim is to provide a common, scalable approach to defeating small unmanned threats with precision and speed.
Variant lineup and capabilities. Each variant is designed to plug into existing force packages with minimal reconfiguration. The maritime Black Wake extends the palletized system to ship decks and harbors, where noisy sensors and cluttered radars complicate tracking of small drones. The Bat variant is tuned for critical infrastructure and industrial sites, offering rapid set-up and a focused engagement envelope. The Casket acts as a self-contained node that can be deployed where fixed infrastructure is unavailable. All three maintain the same core philosophy: a modular, vehicle-agnostic platform that can be deployed from a truck bed or a temporary shelter and scale as needed.
Technology and integration
At the heart of the upgrades is artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve detection, classification and engagement decisions. By fusing data from assorted sensors and effectors, the system can distinguish small drones from birds or debris, reducing false positives. In addition to precision weapons, L3Harris adds electronic jammers and non-kinetic effects to extend reach across several domains without relying solely on kinetic interceptors. In practice, this means a single system can support anti-drone missions in a coastal port, on a forward operating base, or at a city facility with shared command-and-control links.
Market context and deployment
The move comes as demand from the United States and its allies grows for more precise, scalable defenses against swarms of drones. L3Harris has framed this as part of a wider initiative launched in August to counter unmanned systems across domains, signaling a push to consolidate buying and training around a unified counter-UAS toolkit. European users have already taken note, with VAMPIRE variants in operational use since 2023, underscoring the program’s resilience and export potential.
According to Washington Technology, the new variants reflect both a tightening defense budget environment and a strategic shift toward multi-domain defense concepts. For readers, the takeaway is clear: threats from small drones are no longer a single- theater concern. Defense planners and procurement teams are seeking modular, interoperable solutions that can be rapidly adapted to diverse environments without sprawling new programs. The VAMPIRE family embodies that trend by offering common cores with domain-specific add-ons, which reduces training time and accelerates fielding.
From a policy and industry perspective, the VAMPIRE expansion highlights broader shifts: the fusion of AI with sensor-to-shooter workflows, the growth of electronic warfare as a parallel track to kinetic defense, and the emphasis on rapid, scalable deployment to meet evolving threats. The result is a more resilient, adaptable C-UAS ecosystem that aligns with multi-domain operation concepts increasingly emphasized by U.S. and allied defense commands. For defense procurement chiefs, this is a practical example of how vendors are shortening the path from concept to fielded capability.
Reader-facing takeaway: the era of bespoke, single-domain drone defense is fading. The multi-domain, AI-augmented counter-drone toolkit is becoming the new standard, offering faster decision cycles, better coverage, and clearer interoperability across forces. As drones evolve, so must the defenses that keep them in check.
