A 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) soldier observes a Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletised ISR Rocket Equipment (VAMPIRE) counter-UAS system at the Joint Readiness Training Center, 8 April 2026. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Mariam Diallo / DVIDS (public domain).

US Army Orders Up to $106 Million of L3Harris VAMPIRE Counter-UAS Rocket Systems

Technical Summary

The United States Army has awarded L3Harris Technologies a contract valued at up to 106 million US dollars for an unspecified quantity of VAMPIRE (Vehicle Agnostic Modular Palletized Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Rocket Equipment) counter-uncrewed aircraft system (C-UAS) units, announced on 11 June 2026. VAMPIRE is a self-contained, palletised weapon kit that combines an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensing and laser-designation suite with a four-rail launcher for 70 mm (2.75 inch) semi-active laser (SAL) guided rockets. The kit can be installed on light tactical vehicles, including the GM Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle, and L3Harris has demonstrated variants configured for land, naval, aerial, and electronic warfare employment. Production is being scaled at the company’s Huntsville, Alabama facility, a ramp-up that began in March 2026 in response to demand for low-cost drone countermeasures.

The effector stack is the established 70 mm guided-rocket family. The principal munition fired by VAMPIRE is the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS II), in which a WGU-59/B distributed-aperture SAL guidance section is inserted between the Mk 66 Mod 4 solid-propellant rocket motor and the warhead, typically the M151 high-explosive (HE) warhead with an approximate 1.1 kg Composition B4 fill (open-source figure; not independently verified). Proximity-fuzed configurations optimised against air targets have been fielded for the counter-drone role, and L3Harris has additionally paired VAMPIRE with the Thales FZ275 70 mm laser-guided rocket against ground targets in a 2026 demonstration. The system has accumulated more than 350,000 hours of reported operational use since the first 14 units were ordered for Ukraine in 2023.

VAMPIRE has logged more than 350,000 hours of operational use since Washington ordered the first 14 systems for Ukraine in 2023, delivering guided 70 mm rockets against drones at a fraction of the unit cost of conventional air-defence interceptor missiles. L3Harris / US Army announcement, 11 June 2026

Analysis of Effects

The contract reinforces the cost-exchange logic now driving layered C-UAS procurement. A guided 70 mm rocket round costs in the low tens of thousands of US dollars (open-source estimates range from roughly 22,000 to 35,000 US dollars per all-up round depending on configuration), against interceptor missiles costing several hundred thousand to over one million US dollars per engagement. For Group 2 and Group 3 uncrewed aircraft and slow remotely piloted types, a SAL-guided rocket with a proximity-initiated HE fragmentation warhead provides an adequate single-shot probability of kill at a sustainable magazine cost, preserving high-end interceptors for cruise missile and fast-jet threats.

Operationally, the palletised format decouples the effector from a dedicated platform: any flatbed vehicle with adequate payload becomes a mobile short-range air defence node. The EO/IR sensor with artificial intelligence assisted detection and the on-mount laser designator allow autonomous engagement cycles by a two-person crew. The unspecified system quantity prevents calculation of fleet-level magazine depth, but the ceiling value suggests a multi-dozen system buy if priced consistently with earlier orders (assessment based on prior published order values; not independently verified).

Personnel and Safety Considerations

For ammunition storage and transport planners, the relevant articles are complete 70 mm rockets with HE warheads and fitted fuzes. These munitions typically carry Hazard Division (HD) 1.1 with an appropriate Compatibility Group (CG) assignment in their packaged transport configuration, although the precise classification depends on the packaging configuration and the national competent authority listing; the applicable assignment for the configurations in this order is a DATA GAP. Proximity-fuzed rounds introduce an additional radio-frequency initiation consideration for licensing under electromagnetic radiation hazard (RADHAZ) separation rules. Laser designation at the launcher imposes standard laser safety zone management during live engagement. Expended motors and warhead-failed rounds in training and operational areas create an unexploded ordnance (UXO) burden that explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) planning should account for, consistent with the As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) principle.

Data Gaps

The following technical data are not available in open sources at the time of writing: the number of VAMPIRE systems covered by the ceiling value; whether munitions are included or contracted separately through existing Hydra 70 and APKWS production lines; the warhead and fuze configuration mix (point-detonating versus proximity); the official Net Explosive Quantity (NEQ) per all-up round and per packaged unit for the delivered configurations; the formal hazard classification assignments; and the delivery schedule. Confidence in the contract value and system identity is high (two corroborating sources including the contractor); confidence in fleet-level implications is low pending quantity disclosure.

Corrections & updates welcome. If you hold open-source data that refines or corrects any parameter in this article, please contact [email protected] citing the specific claim and your source. Verified corrections will be incorporated and credited in the revision history. AI-assisted technical assessment based on open-source material. Not a formal intelligence product.