Coyote
The Raytheon Coyote is a multi-role tube-launched drone: born as a recon UAV launched from A-size sonobuoy tubes, it evolved into a supersonic counter-drone interceptor (Block 2) used by the US Army and CENTCOM to neutralize Shahed-136 and Iranian drones in Iraq and the Red Sea.
Coyote
The Raytheon Coyote is a multi-role tube-launched drone: born as a recon UAV launched from A-size sonobuoy tubes, it evolved into a supersonic counter-drone interceptor (Block 2) used by the US Army and CENTCOM to neutralize Shahed-136 and Iranian drones in Iraq and the Red Sea.
Community
Data trust
- Reliability
- Unverified
- Sources
- Sources pending review
Identity
- Designation
- Coyote
- Alias
- Raytheon Coyote Block 1 / Block 2 / Block 3
- Manufacturer
- Raytheon (RTX) — ex Sensintel/BAE
- Country
- United States
- Year
- 2007
- Category
- Loitering munition
- Class
- Small (< 25 kg)
- Status
- In service
Performance
- Range
- 80 km
- Endurance
- 1 h (Block 2)
- Top speed
- Mach 0,8 (Block 2 jet)
- Service ceiling
- 9,100 m
- Propulsion
- Elettrico (Block 1) / Turbogetto (Block 2/3)
Physical characteristics
- MTOW
- 5.9 kg
- Payload
- 0.9 kg
- Weapons
- Testata HE/frag (Block 2 counter-drone)
Onboard systems
- Sensors
- EO/IR, seeker RF/IR (varianti C-UAS)
- Datalink / control
- RF link tattico + networking swarm
- Launch
- Tubo di lancio sonobuoy A-size — da aereo, terra, nave
- Recovery
- Paracadute (Block 1) o impatto (Block 2/3)
Combat use
- ▸NOAA hurricane-hunter missions (2007-)
- ▸US Army LIDS/Howler IOC (2019)
- ▸Iraq, Syria, Jordan (2024) — Shahed-136 and KAS-04 shoot-downs
- ▸Red Sea / Operation Prosperity Guardian (2024) — counter-Houthi
Tags
Main operators
History
Originally developed by Advanced Ceramics Research (then BAE, Sensintel, Raytheon), the Coyote Block 1 flew in 2007 for NOAA hurricane weather missions.
The Block 2 jet variant entered US Army service in 2019 within the Howler/LIDS C-UAS system; in 2024 it shot down dozens of Houthi and Shahed-136 drones in Iraq, Syria and the Red Sea.
On the development side, the Raytheon Coyote was born in 2007 from Advanced Ceramics Research as a UAV launchable from standard NATO A-size sonobuoy tubes: its transformation into a counter-drone interceptor (Block 2 turbojet) made it the weapon of choice in the US Army LIDS/Howler system against the Shahed-136.
On the affordable counter-drone front, the Coyote Block 2/3 is the backbone of CENTCOM short-range defense: it has shot down dozens of Houthi drones in the Red Sea and Iranian drones in Iraq at a per-engagement cost (~$125k) drastically lower than Standard SM-2/SM-6 missiles.
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