Rheinmetall and Praetorian Aeronautics unveil AERIE counter-drone system

Rheinmetall and Australian company Praetorian Aeronautics have developed AERIE (Autonomous-Engagement-Rapid-Interceptor-Effector), a containerized Counter-Uncrewed Aircraft System (C-UAS). The partnership successfully moved from the conceptual phase to a working prototype within 12 months.

The AERIE system is housed in a highly mobile 20-foot ISO shipping container and is designed to be interceptor-agnostic. It can hold more than 20 interceptors and is intended to provide a low-cost, rapidly deployable solution to the growing threat of inexpensive uncrewed drones.

The demonstrator incorporates Praetorian Aeronautics’ Arrow Interceptor, an autonomous, high-speed, and low-cost tool for kinetic neutralization of various unmanned threats beyond visual range. It also utilizes the Hadrian Command and Control (C2) system, which uses artificial intelligence to manage autonomous effectors across air, land, and maritime domains.