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America’s New Drone Killer: Tempest Air Defense System Channels Ukraine’s War Lessons
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
At the AUSA 2025 defense exhibition in Washington, D.C., American defense company V2X presented the Tempest, a new short-range air defense system designed for rapid mobility and cost efficiency.
According to Defense Express on October 14, the system appears to draw heavily from Ukraine’s experience in countering Iranian-made Shahed drones.
The Tempest is available in two configurations—a mobile version mounted on a lightweight off-road buggy and a trailer-based version intended to protect stationary facilities. Both rely on commercially available components (COTS), which significantly reduce production costs and simplify logistics.
The system is equipped with a compact RADA radar and two missile launchers. However, due to the single radar setup, Tempest has a limited field of view, capable of tracking targets only in one direction.
This design suggests that the radar serves primarily for target acquisition and missile guidance, while broader situational awareness may depend on external radar data shared across a networked defense grid.
According to Defense Express, the launcher uses AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missiles, originally developed for helicopters and naval platforms.
These missiles feature millimeter-wave radar seekers capable of engaging helicopters, drones, and low-flying aircraft at ranges of up to eight kilometers. While precise costs vary, Defense Express estimates each missile at roughly $100,000–$150,000, raising questions about cost-effectiveness against cheaper drone threats.
Still, the concept behind Tempest mirrors Ukraine’s mobile air defense tactics—deploying inexpensive, easily relocatable units capable of reacting quickly to incoming drones.
This approach emphasizes scalability and flexibility rather than heavy, static systems, reflecting lessons learned from Ukraine’s two years of defending against mass drone assaults.
By adapting proven missile technology to a modular, lightweight platform, V2X aims to offer armed forces a rapidly deployable solution to the growing drone threat—a model clearly shaped by the realities of modern warfare seen in Ukraine.
Earlier, European missile maker MBDA unveiled the One-Way Effector—a Shahed-style attack drone inspired by lessons from the Ukraine war.
According to The War Zone, the jet-powered system is designed for mass production and saturation strikes, carrying an 80-pound warhead over a 310-mile range to overwhelm enemy air defenses.
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