A counter-drone weapons system being produced in Huntsville has picked up another U.S. military customer, with the Navy selecting L3Harris Technologies’ VAMPIRE system for littoral defense.
L3Harris announced this week that the Navy selected VAMPIRE to support the military’s expanding integrated defense against drones and other unmanned systems. The company did not disclose the value of the Navy contract, number of systems to be delivered or a delivery schedule.
The company began high-volume production of VAMPIRE at its Huntsville manufacturing facility earlier this year in response to growing demand from the United States and allied militaries. The Huntsville operation handles assembly, testing and integration of the systems.
VAMPIRE is a self-contained weapons system designed to provide reconnaissance and precision strike capabilities against drones and other remotely piloted platforms. Its modular design allows the system to be installed on a variety of vehicles and other platforms.
“VAMPIRE is a flexible and effective system that meets the unique requirements of the U.S. Navy for littoral C-UxS defense,” said Tony Calderon, president of Targeting & Sensor Systems for L3Harris’ Communications & Spectrum Dominance segment.
“We’re engineering new capabilities to adapt to our customers’ missions and ruggedizing VAMPIRE against the environmental stresses of maritime environments.”
The Navy selection follows a major Army order for the same Huntsville-produced counter-drone system.
In June, L3Harris announced it had been selected to deliver VAMPIRE systems to the U.S. Army under an order worth up to $106 million. The company said the systems were being acquired to meet an urgent requirement to track and defeat hostile drones.
VAMPIRE has also been put through its paces with U.S. and allied forces. During Exercise Balikatan 2026 in the Indo-Pacific, the system was evaluated in simulated counter-drone engagements across land, maritime and littoral environments.
L3Harris said the exercise demonstrated VAMPIRE’s ability to combine detection, identification and defeat capabilities as part of a layered defense against increasingly prevalent drone threats.
The company has continued expanding those capabilities. Earlier this year, L3Harris unveiled Wraith Shield software, which can use radios as sensors to help detect small drones and can be integrated with VAMPIRE and the company’s Drone Guardian system.
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