WASHINGTON — BAE Systems was awarded the U.S. Army’s Soft Kill Active Protection System (APS) program of record. The first phase of the contract is valued at $20 million.

The Soft Kill APS will use BAE Systems’ Rapid Optical Observation and Kill (ROOK) program. The ROOK system defeats incoming threats by confusing or jamming missile guidance systems and drones before they reach military vehicles. ROOK is a spiral development of the TERRA RAVEN soft-kill system, which BAE Systems used to win the U.S. Army’s Soft Kill Rodeo competition in 2019. Following that competition, the Army suggested integrating TERRA RAVEN into a Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

The new contract will support further development of both the TERRA RAVEN system and BAE’s Stormcrow defense system, which uses lasers to defeat various airborne threats. Dave Gillespie, director of Optics and Countermeasure Solutions at BAE Systems, said: "Modern ground warfare demands a layered defense, and soft-kill technologies are a critical, complementary component."

Soft-kill systems like ROOK offer cost-effective and sustainable defense capabilities with what is described as an infinite magazine depth, continuously disrupting enemy targeting systems without expending physical munitions. The ROOK platform is agnostic, meaning it can be integrated into various military platforms, according to an Army spokesperson. However, platform integration is not part of the current award. The U.S. Army is considering various vehicles for future integration with the new APS, but that decision will be made later.

The U.S. Army and Department of Defense have expanded their search for non-kinetic counter-drone capabilities to minimize collateral damage to civilians and infrastructure. Inexpensive, small first-person-view drones have been used to destroy multi-million-dollar tanks in the Ukraine-Russia war. The Department of Defense has requested nearly $1 billion for counter-drone capabilities in its fiscal 2027 budget.

BAE Systems has been developing its soft kill APS technology for several years, building on prior work including the TERRA RAVEN system and the 2019 Soft Kill Rodeo competition results.