Leonardo DRS Launches New Maritime Counter-UAS Capability to
AI Analysis
Leonardo DRS has integrated its Maritime Mission Equipment Package (M-MEP) onto the Sea Machines STORMRUNNER autonomous unmanned surface vessel (AUSV), creating a modular, rapidly fieldable counter-UAS capability for the maritime domain. The system combines radar, EO-IR sensors, and the AI-enabled SAGEcore command-and-control platform to detect, track, identify, and defeat aerial drone threats against ships, ports, and expeditionary forces.
Key Takeaways
- Leonardo DRS successfully integrated the Maritime Mission Equipment Package (M-MEP) on the Sea Machines STORMRUNNER AUSV, demonstrating an autonomous maritime C-UAS solution.
- The M-MEP fuses maritime radar, EO-IR sensors, integrated networking, and the SAGEcore AI-enabled sensor fusion and C2 platform into a single, scalable package.
- Designed for rapid integration on both crewed and uncrewed platforms, the system compresses the timeline from requirement to operational deployment across multiple vessel types.
- The capability counters the full spectrum of aerial unmanned threats—from small commercial quadcopters to long-range UAS—to protect ships, ports, littoral infrastructure, and expeditionary forces.
- The system will be showcased at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space Symposium, signaling a direct push for U.S. Navy and allied procurement.
Why It Matters
Integrating C-UAS kill chains onto USVs represents a force-multiplying evolution in naval air defense, enabling distributed, unmanned nodes to provide layered protection without exposing personnel. Leonardo DRS’s emphasis on modularity and rapid fielding addresses the U.S. Navy’s urgent operational need to counter increasingly autonomous and numerous drone threats in contested littoral and expeditionary environments where legacy air defense coverage is often inadequate.
Leonardo DRS Launches New Maritime Counter-UAS Capability to
Stay informed with our free newsletters
Leonardo DRS Launches New Maritime Counter-UAS Capability to Defeat Aerial Unmanned Threats at Sea
Integrated C-UAS for the Maritime Fight - Built to Field Fast
Leonardo DRS ©
Leonardo DRS, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRS) announced today it has successfully integrated its Maritime Mission Equipment Package (M-MEP) on an autonomous unmanned surface vessel (AUSV), delivering a new counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) capability designed to detect, track, identify, and defeat aerial unmanned threats operating in the maritime domain. Built for rapid integration on crewed and uncrewed platforms, the solution provides a mission-ready layer of protection for ships, ports, littoral infrastructure, and expeditionary forces facing an increasingly complex drone threat environment.
“Aerial unmanned threats are evolving quickly — in range, autonomy, and numbers,” said Cari Ossenfort, senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Naval Electronics business unit. “The M-MEP is engineered to help the U.S. Navy and allied forces stay ahead of that threat with a modular package that brings sensors, command and control, and defeat options together into one integrated capability that can be fielded fast.”
From small commercial quadcopters to more capable long-range UAS, unmanned aerial threats now represent a persistent risk to maritime operations. The M-MEP is designed to compress the time from requirement to operational capability by packaging detection through defeat into a single, scalable system that can be adapted across a range of maritime platforms — including uncrewed surface vessels – USVs.
Counter-UAS (C-UAS) Systems - Market and Technology Forecast to 2033
Market forecast by Region, End-User, and Mitigation Type. Country Analysis, Market and Technology Overview including Critical Raw Materials, Opportunity Analysis, and Leading Company Profiles
Download free sample pages More information
The M-MEP combines maritime radar and EO-IR sensors with integrated networking, the SAGEcore™ software platform for AI-enabled sensor fusion and command and control, and a platform integration kit that accelerates installation across multiple vessel types.
Leonardo DRS will showcase the M-MEP integrated onto the Sea Machines STORMRUNNER AUSV at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space Symposium. Attendees are invited to visit Leonardo DRS outside the exhibition hall at Dock 9 to learn how the system can help the U.S. Navy to detect, identify, track, and defeat aerial unmanned threats faster with rapidly fieldable, modular, interoperable C-UAS protection that boosts maritime domain awareness, reduces operator workload, and extends layered defense to ships and USVs.
Publishdate: Apr 20, 2026
Leonardo DRS View original News release
Forward to a Colleague
More news releases from Leonardo DRS
- Leonardo DRS Introduces THOR, Deliverin