Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new airborne counter-drone system capable of disabling swarms of enemy drones using high-power microwave technology, with the program managed through the company’s Missiles and Fire Control Advanced Programs organization, headquartered in Huntsville.

The system, known as MORFIUS X-Rotor, was introduced this week during the Farnborough International Airshow in England. Lockheed Martin said the reusable system can neutralize more than 50 hostile drones during a single flight before being recovered and used again, reducing the cost of countering increasingly common drone attacks.

The program is managed by Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) Advanced Programs division, headquartered in Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park.

“MORFIUS sets a new benchmark for counter-drone capability – delivering a high kill rate while keeping the cost per kill low,” said Randy Crites, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Advanced Programs. “By leveraging a lightweight, field reusable high-power microwave architecture, we provide the most effective, low-cost solution on the market today and demonstrate Lockheed Martin’s ability to field innovative, affordable technologies at the speed our American and allied troops need.”

The MORFIUS™ X-Rotor is a portable, cost‑effective counter‑drone system that can neutralize up to 50 enemy drones in a single mission. Designed for rapid reuse and rapid deployment. pic.twitter.com/J3tvFrgkuf

— Lockheed Martin (@LockheedMartin) July 20, 2026

The Huntsville operation serves as the engineering, program management and strategic development hub for the MORFIUS program. Lockheed Martin said the system is designed to operate with virtually any command-and-control network and does not require dedicated fire-control radar, making it compatible with existing military air defense systems.

Unlike traditional interceptor missiles that destroy a single target, MORFIUS uses high-power microwave energy to disable multiple drones in a single mission while minimizing collateral damage.

The announcement builds on Lockheed Martin’s continued investment in Huntsville’s growing role in advanced missile and hypersonic technologies. In late 2025, the company opened a $17 million, 17,000-square-foot Hypersonic System Integration Lab at its Cummings Research Park campus. The facility was designed to accelerate the testing, simulation and integration of next-generation propulsion and advanced weapons technologies into future defense systems.

While the program is directed from Huntsville, prototype manufacturing is taking place at Lockheed Martin production facilities in numerous states. Flight testing and operational evaluations have been conducted at military test ranges in Arizona, California and Oklahoma.

The company said it is accelerating production of MORFIUS prototypes and planning additional flight testing as it works to transition the system from development into operational military service.

Lockheed Martin said the system supports the Department of War’s Rapid Response Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems roadmap, which seeks affordable, scalable technologies to defend against increasingly sophisticated drone threats.

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