The Wraith Shield Advantage: Transforming L3Harris Radios into AI-Enabled Counter-UAS Sensors - Europe Defence Insights Magazine | EDI
AI Analysis
L3Harris Technologies is releasing Wraith Shield software, transforming existing tactical radios into AI-enabled counter-UAS platforms. The system disrupts drone signals, causing them to lose functionality, and will initially deploy on the RF-9820S radio family with a planned rollout to over 100,000 existing Wraith-capable systems. Wraith Shield is designed as a layered defense component, complementing systems like VAMPIRE by focusing on smaller, low-cost drone threats.
Key Takeaways
- Wraith Shield utilizes existing L3Harris tactical radios (RF-9820S and RF-9820S-ER) as sensors and effectors against drones.
- The software leverages AI-enabled RF sensing to detect and disrupt drone signals.
- Deployment is slated for later this year, starting with the RF-9820S family.
- Wraith Shield is designed to counter both sophisticated UAS and low-cost, weaponized commercial drones (FPV).
- The system integrates into distributed networks and can operate independently or in conjunction with other C-UAS systems like VAMPIRE.
Why It Matters
This development represents a shift towards utilizing existing communication infrastructure for layered air defense, offering a cost-effective solution against the growing drone threat. By repurposing widely deployed radios, L3Harris enables rapid deployment and scalability of counter-UAS capabilities across allied forces. This approach addresses the challenge of defending against a wide range of drone threats, from high-end systems to inexpensive, readily available models.
The Wraith Shield Advantage: Transforming L3Harris Radios into AI-Enabled Counter-UAS Sensors - Europe Defence Insights Magazine | EDI
Home Counter Drones The Wraith Shield Advantage: Transforming L3Harris Radios into AI-Enabled Counter-UAS Sensors
The Wraith Shield Advantage: Transforming L3Harris Radios into AI-Enabled Counter-UAS Sensors
May 31, 2026
May 31, 2026
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The proliferation of drone warfare in combat zones worldwide has created a dynamic shift in military strategy, demanding effective protection for both national borders and deployed troops. The breadth of unmanned systems in adversarial inventories presents a layered challenge, as warfighters must contend with sophisticated large unmanned aerial systems (UAS) as well as attritable commercial drones deliberately weaponized for one-way attack missions against personnel and critical assets. A single air defense system cannot contend with every drone threat, nor is it feasible to deliver the same kinetic effect for a large UAS as for a first-person view (FPV) drone costing just a few hundred dollars. A layered posture is required to cost-effectively defend against this new form of warfare.
To meet this critical need, warfighters in forward deployed environments will soon have access to L3Harris Technologies’ Wraith Shield software — a capability that turns existing tactical radios widely fielded across U.S., NATO, Five Eyes, and allied forces into mobile, AI-enabled radio frequency sensing and effects platforms that serve as a shield against small drone attacks.
Chris Aebli, President of Mission Critical Communications at L3Harris, stated:“Wraith Shield is a prime example of how L3Harris continues to innovate as the Trusted Disruptor in the market. It enables operators to disrupt hostile drone signals directly from their radios. With the press of a button, personnel can neutralize attritable unmanned systems, causing them to drop from the sky.”
L3Harris developed the Wraith waveform — the first wideband, fast frequency-hopping tactical waveform — in the early 2020s, and it is fielded today in operations where communications face sophisticated electronic warfare attacks. As an enhancement, the company’s Rapid Prototyping Group began developing the Wraith Shield upgrade last year to counter adversaries’ ability to deploy smaller commercial drones.
The Wraith Shield capability will be deployed on the RF-9820S Compact Team Radio (AN/PRC-171) and its embeddable version, the RF-9820S-ER, later this year. It will also be available as a future software upgrade on all Wraith-capable tactical radios — including the more than 100,000 systems already fielded.
A Converged Solution for Layered Air Defense
With AI-enabled RF sensing, Wraith Shield delivers a radio-as-a-sensor capability that integrates into distributed, data-centric networks. The capability can be used stand-alone or integrated with other counter-UxS systems, allowing larger systems like VAMPIRE to focus on bigger threats