U.S. Army tests a cheap missile made to intercept drones

Perseus Defense tested its Mk-III low-cost counter-drone interceptor at Yuma Proving Ground with U.S. Northern Command, NORAD and Joint Interagency Task Force 401. Designed to cost about $2,500 per round, the kinetic missile was loaded into an eight-shot launcher during a homeland-defense experiment aimed at defeating inexpensive unmanned aircraft without expending premium air-defense weapons. The effort responds to the unfavorable economics exposed by drone incursions such as the 2023 activity over Langley Air Force Base and could provide a scalable layer against mass attacks.