“Modern ground warfare demands a layered defense, and soft-kill technologies are a critical, complementary component,” Dave Gillespie, director of Optics and Countermeasure Solutions at BAE, said in the company release.
ROOK: a named program built on TERRA RAVEN
BAE Systems announced it has been awarded the Army’s Soft Kill Active Protection System (APS) program of record and identified its Rapid Optical Observation and Kill (ROOK) program as the technology to field. Company materials describe ROOK as a “spiral development of the TERRA RAVEN” system that BAE has been developing for several years. BAE previously won the Army’s 2019 Soft Kill Rodeo competition with TERRA RAVEN, a contest the Army held to identify APS solutions with the most “potential.” Later in 2019, the Army suggested integrating the winning system into a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, a BAE spokesperson said.
Contract structure and initial funding
Breaking Defense reported the first phase of the ROOK contract is valued at $20 million, according to a company spokesperson. The award is framed as the Army’s program of record for soft-kill APS, and the contract will support “further development” of the TERRA RAVEN technology alongside other BAE efforts.
How BAE describes soft-kill and allied systems
BAE characterizes its soft-kill approach as non-kinetic: systems that deploy effects other than physical interceptors. The company said ROOK takes down threats by “confusing” or jamming missile systems or drones before they can reach vehicles. The company also tied the ROOK work to its Stormcrow defense system, which BAE describes as using lasers to defeat various airborne threats. In its release, BAE said such systems offer “cost-effective, sustainable defense with an infinite magazine depth, continuously disrupting enemy systems.”
Policy and procurement context: counter-drone funding and collateral-risk concerns
The award comes as the Defense Department requested an uptick in funding for counter-drone capabilities in its fiscal 2027 budget, a request described in the reporting as “valued at almost $1 billion.” That budget push is linked in the source to battlefield developments, including “inexpensive, small first-person-view drones taking out muti-million-dollar tanks on the modern battlefield, such as in the Ukraine-Russia war.” The reporting also notes the Army and the broader Defense Department have expanded their search for non-kinetic counter-drone capabilities in part to “minimize the risk of collateral damage caused by large kinetic weapons on civilians and infrastructure.”
What this means for the Army, BAE Systems, and battlefield vehicle crews
- The Army: gains a designated program of record for soft-kill APS built around BAE’s ROOK, but the service has not, in the source, specified which ground vehicles will be outfitted. When asked what vehicles would receive ROOK, BAE deferred to the Army, and the Army did not respond by press time.
- BAE Systems: secures continued development work linking TERRA RAVEN, ROOK and Stormcrow under a contract whose first phase is $20 million, anchoring its soft-kill portfolio to an Army program of record.
- Battlefield vehicle crews and operators: could see new non-kinetic defensive options focused on jamming or “confusing” incoming missile systems and drones, alongside laser options described by BAE, intended to reduce reliance on kinetic interceptors and the attendant risks to nearby civilians and infrastructure.
The award signals an Army preference — at least in this program of record — for non-kinetic layers to complement hard-kill defenses. But the reporting leaves a clear immediate question: which specific platforms will carry ROOK and in what timeline? BAE deferred that decision to the Army, and the Army did not provide an answer by press time, leaving the next concrete step a service decision about vehicle integration and fielding plans.
