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US scales APKWS II laser‑guided rockets as low‑cost air‑to‑air counter‑UAS; USAF plans $145M BAE upgrade

U.S. services are scaling the combat‑proven APKWS II laser‑guided Hydra‑70 (AGR‑20/FALCO) as a low‑cost air‑to‑air option to defeat Group‑3 UAS and cruise missiles, with the Marine Corps fitting legacy F/A‑18 Hornets and the Air Force planning a $145M sole‑source upgrade award to BAE.

Discovered 2026-02-13T03:16:27.472436-08:00 | 2026-02-13T03:16:27.472436-08:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

  • Immediate operational effect: Marines are integrating APKWS II onto legacy F/A‑18 Hornets to provide an organic, aircraft‑delivered option against Group‑3 UAS and cruise missiles, expanding intercept options for deployed squadrons.

  • Procurement and demand signal: The Air Force’s planned $145 million sole‑source award to BAE for AGR‑20F/FALCO component upgrades documents near‑term CENTCOM demand and confirms BAE as the sole capable supplier cited in the Feb. 13 J&A.

  • Program and industrial context: This scaling of APKWS builds on recent APKWS sustainment and production actions and broader service counter‑drone efforts, including the Navy’s APKWS sustainment IDIQ (preserves supply) and Marine Corps/DoD moves to field integrated C‑UAS systems (MADIS and doctrine shifts) — see source:d72a84bb-d21e-4641-b0c7-55795329fa3e and source:acc6ab9d-ebba-445e-aa9c-8e7c065afff9.

Reported By

nationalsecurityjournal.org defence-industry.eu Yahoo realcleardefense.com Army Recognition Aviation Week
Sources Tracked
16
First Seen
2026-02-13T03:16:27.472436-08:00
Latest Update
2026-02-19T10:54:40.411794-08:00
Coverage
Defense

Sources

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