The U.S. Navy is taking steps to enhance the Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System’s (APKWS) air-to-air capability through a new software upgrade, according to new documents.
With the rise of unmanned aerial threats, and the need to down them cost-effectively, BAE Systems’ APKWS has been utilized by American and Ukrainian forces to down drones and other aerial threats such as cruise missiles. U.S. Central Command has flaunted its counter-unmanned aerial systems capability via the guided rockets, which has been seen mounted on attack helicopters and fighter jets operating across the Middle East.
A Naval Air Systems Command solicitation intends to award BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration an engineering change proposal. This effort will see the True Pulse Logic algorithm integrated into the guidance kit’s existing single block variant upgrade production line.
While there are few details on the True Pulse Logic algorithm, the development was first described in a 2023 Air Force Research Laboratory contract to BAE. Funding for the project was raised to a total value of $38 million in 2024 and is slated to conclude in 2028. According to the award, the True Pulse Logic algorithm concept was “intended to not only address short-term needs, but also prepare for future next-generation upgrades to Semi-Active Laser Seekers.”
It should be noted that the Air Force has deployed the Fixed Wing, Air Launched, Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Ordnance modification for APKWS, which employs a similar software upgrade against unmanned aerial systems against unmanned threats.
Alongside the incorporation of True Pulse Logic into the existing production line, the solicitation also examines the feasibility of exporting single block variant upgrade and legacy air-to-air APKWS.
NAVAIR previously led an initiative to rapidly provide Ukrainian forces with anti-drone APKWS via the Vehicle Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment (VAMPIRE) system in 2023. The U.S. Marine Corps also identified plans to utilize APKWS II for counter-unmanned aerial system missions in its 2025 aviation plan.
BAE Systems unveiled a new guidance kit for APKWS at Sea Air Space 2025 that the company claims will enhance the rocket’s C-UAS capability.
The Navy’s effort to upgrade APKWS production lines to include C-UAS software comes amid the service’s need to combat drones without utilizing high-end interceptors, such as those from the fleet’s Standard Missile stocks. American warships have received additional armaments to combat these threats, including Anduril’s Roadrunner and RTX’s Coyote. Lockheed Martin Hellfire missiles have also been reprogrammed to intercept drones in the Red Sea.
