The Ukrainian 427th Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment posted a video showing a Merops interceptor taking down a Shahed drone. The footage comes as the US Army is working to develop its own low-cost interceptor program, with a goal of producing a system that can be fielded at scale for under $1 million.
The Army currently relies on the Merops design from Perennial Autonomy, but does not own the design and cannot produce it at will. The new program aims to change that, allowing the Army to hand a government-owned blueprint to any manufacturer.
The Merops interceptor has already seen success in Ukraine, with over 4,000 Russian drones downed, and has been adopted by several NATO countries, including Romania and Poland. However, the system still faces technical difficulties, with some footage showing interceptors failing to down Russian drones.
