18 hours ago - Technology

Exclusive: X-Bow's new drone killer costs less than $100,000

Colin Demarest

A rocket launch from a seaside test platform. A gray cylindrical missile with fins angles upward. Orange flames and smoke shoot out at the base. — A Buckler interceptor launch. Photo: Courtesy of X-Bow Systems

X-Bow Systems developed and recently flight-tested an interceptor it's pricing below $100,000, a fraction of what some other well-known air defenses cost, executives told Axios.

Why it matters: Drone-and-missile barrages are chewing through countermeasures worldwide, and reliance on multimillion-dollar munitions has come under great scrutiny.

Driving the news: X-Bow rolled out the interceptor — known as Buckler, a reference to a small, round shield used in medieval combat — on the first day of the Farnborough International Airshow in London.

"This is our answer to the call from the U.S. and its allies: affordable capability at scale," CEO Jason Hundley told Axios.

Zoom in: Buckler's airframe, solid-rocket motor and propellant are designed and made in-house.

It's meant to knock out Group 3 drones, which have become near-synonymous with Iran's deadly and widespread Shahed-136.
"You can't win a war of attrition trading million-dollar interceptors against thousand-dollar threats," Hundley said.

Catch up quick: X-Bow is headquartered in New Mexico and has facilities in California, Texas, Utah and more. It raised $105 million last year.

Lockheed Martin, an investor, previously tapped X-Bow as an independent supplier of SRMs and other services.

What's next: The Pentagon has requested a briefing on the interceptor.

Go deeper: Defense-tech diversifies as "voracious" investors pour in

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Exclusive: X-Bow's new drone killer costs less than $100,000

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