L3Harris secured a new contract this week to provide the Department of Defense with additional equipment to disable drones or unmanned aerial systems.

The Defense Department initially contracted L3Harris to provide its VAMPIRE system to European ground forces in 2023; this week’s contract expands on the deal. 

L3Harris’ Vehicle Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment, or VAMPIRE, system provides advanced strike capabilities against drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles. VAMPIRE integrates L3Harris’ proprietary sensor system and Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System rockets to protect ground units from unmanned attacks. 

“L3Harris’ VAMPIRE has proven to be a reliable and cost-effective response to the growing counter-UAS threat on the global battlefield,” said Tom Kirkland, vice president and general manager of Targeting and Sensor Systems at L3Harris. “We will continue to work closely with the Department of Defense and our allied partners to provide formidable counter-UAS technology domestically and abroad.” 

In a statement, L3Harris talked up the successes of the system thus far in Europe and pitched how VAMPIRE could be useful on other fronts, pointing to possible maritime applications for the system. 

“VAMPIRE has shown potential for multi-domain applications with capabilities that can extend to the sea, offering a solution for maritime operations against UAS, fast inshore attack crafts and low-slow flyers,” the company wrote in a statement.

The contract expansion comes as Russia and Ukraine launch ever-greater drone swarms across the border. Last week, Ukraine launched one of the largest drone strikes of the war, targeting at least five major Russian airfields and damaging dozens of heavy bombers. 

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.