IN Brief:
- BAE Systems presented its Multi-Domain Artillery Cannon System and a high-power microwave demonstrator at AUSA on 12 October.
- MDACS is designed to fire the Hypervelocity Projectile against aerial threats and Scorpio-XR precision ammunition at ground targets.
- The microwave demonstrator uses an architecture described as more than 99% commercial off-the-shelf components, but no fielding decision was announced.
BAE Systems has presented its Multi-Domain Artillery Cannon System (MDACS) alongside a high-power microwave (HPM) counter-drone demonstrator at the Association of the United States Army exhibition in Washington. The technologies would provide different responses to aerial threats, pairing guided projectiles with electromagnetic effects. MDACS and related ammunition had already appeared in BAE exhibition material before the October presentation. No operational order or combined deployment has been announced.
MDACS is intended to deliver guided rounds against airborne or surface targets. BAE identifies the Hypervelocity Projectile (HVP) for air-defence engagements and its Scorpio-XR precision round for fixed and moving ground targets. The company says Scorpio-XR can reach twice the range of existing 155mm cannon-launched projectiles, but it has not specified the comparator round or published an independently verified range. Both munitions are part of the proposed cannon’s wider mission set; the announcement does not establish a single demonstrated engagement configuration for every target type.
Using guided ammunition against an airborne target imposes different requirements from conventional artillery fire. A cannon must deliver a projectile to an engagement area quickly enough for its guidance and control system to make useful corrections, while the broader system needs timely target tracks and a fire-control solution. Accuracy at launch alone does not account for a drone changing direction after the round has left the barrel. Nor does the existence of a guided projectile establish the full system’s probability of defeating a particular class of target; the detection, tracking and engagement chain must be evaluated together.
The two ammunition types would also impose different demands on the command and loading chain. An aerial engagement depends on continuously updated target information and the time available for an intercept; precision fire against a moving ground target requires its own targeting and guidance arrangements. BAE has not disclosed the gun’s ready-round capacity, rate of fire, exact configuration or the qualification evidence for its proposed combined use. Earlier appearances of MDACS and Scorpio-XR should not be confused with completion of that system-level testing.
The HPM demonstrator offers an electronic effect instead of launching a projectile. A high-power microwave emitter can expose susceptible circuitry to directed electromagnetic energy, potentially producing repeated engagements without consuming individual cannon rounds. BAE says more than 99% of the demonstrator’s architecture comprises commercial off-the-shelf components. That percentage describes the components selected for the design; it is neither a measured probability of defeating a drone nor a guarantee that the complete system has passed military qualification.
Electrical power is only one practical constraint on this form of defence. Energy conversion, heat removal, antenna performance, beam placement and the susceptibility of a target’s electronics will all influence what a deployed system can achieve. An array of drones may also present targets at different ranges and angles, making sensor information and emitter control as important as the ability to generate microwave energy. BAE has not published verified simultaneous-target counts, engagement ranges or duty cycles for this demonstrator.
If both effects were deployed within the same defensive network, target classification and engagement authority would have to determine which response is suitable. Cannon ammunition is finite and requires handling and replenishment, while microwave emission depends on power generation, thermal performance and the susceptibility of the target electronics. A generator may allow repeated emissions, but the rate and duration of useful operation remain subject to equipment limits; the two technologies cannot therefore be compared simply by describing one as having an unlimited magazine.
BAE’s separate Anti Threat System (BATS) programme has already been exercised during Scottish counter-drone trials, where sensors, command functions and different responses were integrated. The October exhibition presentation does not say that MDACS or the new HPM demonstrator took part in those trials. Combining either with a deployed network would require further tests of sensor messages, target allocation, command permissions and response timing.
BAE is positioning the cannon and microwave systems as options for countering large numbers of aerial threats. Representative trials would need to assess the complete MDACS fire-control chain and the microwave system against defined target types. Useful measurements would include the rate at which sensor tracks are refreshed, the delays between detection and engagement, the number of rounds available and the microwave emitter’s thermal recovery after repeated use. Those results would establish the operating limits and maintenance requirements of each approach beyond the equipment displayed at the exhibition.
