Northrop 50mm Raid Hunter and Dual-Feed M230LF Target Drone Swarms at AUSA

The Raid Hunter completed aeroballistic tests against aerial targets in August, confirming performance predictions for proximity-fuzed 50mm rounds against cruise missiles and drone swarms. The M230LF variant adds a second feed path for switching between 30x113mm proximity rounds and high-explosive dual-purpose ammunition without reloading, sharing 60 percent parts commonality with the single-feed Apache model and rated at 200 rounds per minute with 22,000-round mean time between failures.

These systems address the documented gap between existing short-range air defenses and the low-cost saturation attacks observed in Ukraine since 2022. Procurement records show U.S. Army programs are shifting from missile-centric C-UAS to gun systems that reduce per-engagement cost from thousands of dollars to hundreds, aligning with multiple Army solicitations for mobile, vehicle-agnostic effectors.

The introduction of these weapons coincides with internal Army training directives that now require operators to master unmanned-system identification and rapid ammunition selection as baseline skills rather than advanced add-ons. This indicates the service is institutionalizing counter-drone gunnery at the unit level.

Next steps include integration testing on 4x4 platforms and patrol boats through FY2025, with contract awards likely tied to the Army's ongoing C-UAS portfolio review.