Nov 5, 2025 - Technology

Exclusive: South Korea and UAE buy Bullfrog counter-drone turrets

Colin Demarest

Black weapon system mounted on a roof in outdoor dry grassland under clear blue sky, featuring a gun and ammunition belt labeled "EMINEM" and "ACS." — A Bullfrog turret, nicknamed Eminem, in the wild. Photo: Courtesy of Allen Control Systems

American defense-tech company Allen Control Systems is on an international tear, selling Bullfrog autonomous turrets to South Korea and the United Arab Emirates and striking a local coproduction agreement with Romania.

Why it matters: The deals underscore two things:

Just how seriously militaries are taking the drone threat, as seen in Eastern Europe and the Middle East
The growth of ACS, especially on the heels of a recent Special Operations Command contract

Zoom in: Bullfrog combines artificial intelligence, sensors and widely available weaponry, including the M240, M2, M230 and M134, to shoot down drones.

The weapon has been trotted out at defense conferences in the back of a pickup truck and on top of an unmanned ground vehicle, creating futuristic technicals.

Friction point: ACS would not say exactly how many Bullfrogs are shipping out and did not disclose the overall value of the deals.

Flashback: Steve Simoni, the company's president, gave U.S. drone defenses a D grade during an Axios event in September.

"We're not doing well currently, but we have a path to do a lot better," he said.
"We've invested in some of the wrong things. You're starting to see a lot of the industry try to change that and catch back up. The soft-kill measures aren't going to work that well for the next couple of years."

Go deeper: Simoni says U.S. military needs more "smaller, cheaper" weapons

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Exclusive: South Korea and UAE buy Bullfrog counter-drone turrets

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