Lockheed Martin develops autonomous flying microwave drone hunter Morfius X-Rotor

The advantage of the system is that multiple drones can be disabled simultaneously. This increases effectiveness compared with systems that engage drones individually using kinetic weapons. No special targeting sensors or fire-control radar are required, eliminating two common components of conventional air defense.

Technology: High-energy microwaves without classic fire control

The drone fighter Morfius X-Rotor is intended to fly autonomously or by remote control against drone swarms and engage them with high-power microwaves. „Laut Lockheed Martin verliefen die ersten Versuche, mit hochenergetischer Mikrowellenstrahlung andere Drohnen zum Absturz zu bringen, erfolgreich. Initial flight tests with Morfius have already been carried out.

Lockheed Martin has not yet completed the Morfius X-Rotor prototype. The HPM effector used in it is to build on systems that have already been in service since 2017. In addition, Morfius is based on a drone that has also been in use since 2017. Further prototypes are to be built and tested soon in order to begin series production within a few years.

Costs, reusability and ground damage

It is likely to take some time before the X-Rotor weapons system can be built, tested and deployed. Lockheed Martin is initially providing no information on a potential completion date. Lockheed Martin, however, is not yet providing information on the cost per shot.

The use of the drone defense fighter is said to be cost-effective. On the one hand, the price per "shot" is low. On the other, the Morfius X-Rotor can be recovered and prepared for another mission, making it reusable. „Munitionskosten würden gar nicht anfallen, auch die Missionskosten der wiederverwendbaren Drohne sollen moderat ausfallen. After landing, a fresh supply of power is all that is needed to begin the next mission.

Research: Fraunhofer analysis from 2020

Without explosive ordnance, damage on the ground is said to be comparatively low; only the intercepted drone itself would crash. If the radiation source is mounted on a drone itself, as in the variant presented, the problem of high-energy radiation having to act over long distances is also resolved.

As early as 2020, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft had produced an analysis on the destruction of drones using electromagnetic radiation. The background was the realization that large numbers of drones could only be intercepted using conventional methods at considerable cost. According to the analysis, drone swarms made up of comparatively inexpensive unmanned aircraft could be disrupted by high-energy radiation, since inexpensive electronics developed for the private sector are only shielded against typical background radiation.