Northrop Grumman Introduces Raid Hunter™ for Next Generation Gun-Based Air Defense System

Northrop Grumman introduced Raid Hunter™ as the official name for its new 50mm Gun-Based Air Defense (GBAD) system, a next-generation capability designed to strengthen short-range, layered air defense against increasingly complex aerial threats. Raid Hunter combines advanced battle management, proven Chain Gun® technology and precision-guided 50mm ammunition to help defend military bases, airfields and critical infrastructure from cruise missiles, drone swarms and other evolving threats while supporting the company’s kinetic solutions portfolio, Raid Defense™ Solutions.

Key Takeaways

• RaidHunterisengineeredtoaddressacriticalshort-rangeairdefensegapbyprovidingwarfighterswithascalable,rapidlydeployablecapabilitytodefeatcruisemissiles,droneswarmsandothercomplexaerial
• AspartofNorthropGrumman’sRaidDefense™Solutionsportfolio,RaidHunter™reinforcesthecompany’scontinuedinvestmentincounter-unmannedaerialsystems(C-UAS)andintegratedairandmissiledefensetechnologiesthatstrengthenlayereddefenseandprotectcriticalmilitary

FALLS CHURCH, Va., August 11, 2026. Northrop Grumman is unveiling Raid Hunter™: The official name for its innovative 50mm Gun-Based Air Defense System. Designed to close a critical gap in short-range layered defense, Raid Hunter provides scalable, resilient and cost-effective protection against increasingly complex aerial threats facing today’s warfighters. As adversaries continue to expand the use of cruise missiles, drone swarms and other advanced aerial threats, Raid Hunter delivers rapid, high-capacity firepower to protect military bases, airfields and other critical infrastructure.

Highlights:

• Raid Hunter combines proven Chain Gun® technology, precision‑guided 50mm ammunition and a networked, interoperable system controller to deliver powerful protection against high-volume, mixed-threat aerial raids. It is designed to defeat a range of aerial threats including high‑priority cruise missile threats, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and other advanced threats.
• Raid Hunter’s guided 50mm ammunition combined with a high-rate-of-fire Chain Gun® delivers lethal, cost-considerate engagement with deep magazines and fast reloads, tackling the economic challenge of massed swarming threats.
• Raid Hunter is built to deploy with speed and flexibility through a modular design for rapid transportation on the C-130, with future vehicle-mounted and container-based variants planned.
• Raid Hunter is the latest product of Northrop Grumman’s continued investment in advanced counter-UAS and air defense technologies designed to meet evolving operational requirements and emerging battlefield threats.
• As part of the company’s C-UAS integrated air and missile defense portfolio, the system supports layered defense architectures to protect critical assets across a range of operations.

Expert:

Kenn Todorov, Vice President and General Manager, Command and Control & Weapons Integration, Northrop Grumman: “Raid Hunter addresses a critical short-range defense gap by delivering rapid, high-capacity protection against complex, mass aerial threats like cruise missiles and drone swarms. It provides warfighters with a cost-effective, flexible tool to decisively defeat evolving threats now and in the future — strengthening the security of vital bases and infrastructure.”

“War has evolved. Air Defenders need the ability to defend against large, complex raids designed to overwhelm traditional defense solutions. Raid Hunter addresses this critical need by delivering a cost effective and deep magazine solution which can be rapidly delivered to the warfighter at scale. Scalable from inception, it defeats evolving threats now and in the future – strengthening the security of vital bases and infrastructure.”

Details:

Raid Hunter is optimized to defeat large quantities of aerial threats which would traditionally saturate defense, including cruise missiles, UAS and advanced threats. Its modular palletized form factor enables rapid, versatile deployment options and future vehicle-mounted and container-based configurations will expand operational use cases.

Northrop Grumman continues to collaborate closely with government and allied partners to mature Raid Hunter’s capabilities. Planned testing throughout the year will further validate system performance and support accelerated fielding.

Raid Hunter is a key system in Northrop Grumman’s portfolio of counter-UAS and air defense capabilities, known as Raid Defense Solutions.

Raid Defense Solutions is Northrop Grumman’s advanced, scalable portfolio of layered kinetic capabilities designed to protect critical assets from increasingly complex and high‑volume aerial threats, including coordinated drone swarms. By integrating proven fielded programs, AI-enabled command and control, sensor fusion and high‑rate firepower this family of solutions will enable faster detection, smarter decision-making and coordinated engagements across a wide range of operational scenarios with future growth and adaptability opportunities.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our employees define possible every day.