BAE Systems has introduced two systems intended to defend critical installations and manoeuvring forces against saturation drone attacks and missile threats: the Multi-Domain Artillery Cannon System (MDACS) and a High Power Microwave (HPM) system. The company announced the systems at the Association of the United States Army event, according to Army Technology’s report.
MDACS is the kinetic element. BAE Systems says it can fire the guided Hypervelocity Projectile for air-defence missions and the Scorpio-XR precision-guided munition against fixed and moving ground targets. The company also claims that Scorpio-XR has twice the range of existing 155mm cannon-launched projectiles, while describing MDACS as air-transportable and mobile across the battlefield.
The HPM system is intended to counter drone swarms using microwave energy. BAE Systems says more than 99% of its components are commercial off-the-shelf items and that the system can continue operating while electrical power is available, rather than depending on conventional ammunition stocks.
The two systems are presented as a layered counter-uncrewed aircraft system and counter-missile capability. Their proposed division of labour combines precision-guided kinetic effects with a directed-energy system whose endurance is tied to available electrical power. The source does not provide test results, engagement ranges, power levels, target-disruption thresholds or evidence of field deployment.
BAE Systems said the systems are intended to address limitations associated with conventional, magazine-dependent kinetic defences during large-scale drone attacks. That is a company assessment rather than an independently verified performance finding. The announcement therefore establishes the systems’ stated design roles and claimed characteristics, but not their operational effectiveness.