Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and SRC will supply Qatar with 10 FS-LIDS drone countermeasures systems and 200 Coyote Block II missiles for $1 billion

Qatar may soon receive 10 systems to counter enemy drones. The deal has been approved by the U.S. State Department.

Here's What We Know

In recent years, part of Qatar's defense procurement has been related to security during the FIFA World Cup, which these days takes place in the country's stadiums of less than 12,600 square kilometers. However, because of the "peculiarities" of the region, the emirate is forced to continue to strengthen its defense capabilities, despite the fact that the Mundial will end in two weeks.

The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of anti-drone systems to Qatar. The development by SRC Technology is called FS-LIDS (Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System) and was created for the U.S. Army.

The cost of the contract is $1 billion, which includes 200 Raytheon Coyote Block II interceptor missiles, AN/TPQ-50 radars, electro-optical cameras for tracking small drones and additional equipment. Separately, the Coyote Block II uses KuRFS (Ku-band Radio Frequency) multifunction radar, which is capable of detecting a 9 mm bullet. At least that's what Raytheon claims.

The FS-LIDS is designed to combat a variety of drones, from the smallest to the third group of drones. These are UAVs that typically weigh 55 to 1,320 pounds (25 to 600 kg), travel up to 18,000 feet (5.5 km) at speeds up to 450 km/h, and can carry large explosives or advanced surveillance and reconnaissance payloads.

Source: Janes