Echodyne has been named as a primary radar system supplier for Trust Automation’s Small-Unmanned Air Defense System (SUADS) counter-UAS platform, which is being delivered to the US Air Force under a $490 million indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract announced in August 2025.
The companies said Echodyne’s EchoShield radars will be integrated across three SUADS variants: the Rapidly Deployable Small-Unmanned Air Defense System (RD-SUADS), Fixed Site Small-Unmanned Air Defense System (FS-SUADS), and Expeditionary Small-Unmanned Air Defense System (EX-SUADS).
Trust Automation said the SUADS platforms adhere to the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) standard and described EchoShield as the first fully integrated SOSA solution in the SUADS counter-UAS platform.
According to the release, RD-SUADS is a self-contained, self-powered system designed to fit standard pallet sizes for transport via military aircraft. FS-SUADS is intended for use at permanent military installations and can be deployed as a group or as a standalone system for 360-degree base protection. The EX-SUADS detection-only system is designed for transportation as checked baggage and sized to fit in larger SUV vehicles.
Echodyne said EchoShield is a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) medium-range radar and that its interfaces and data outputs can be used to cue optical sensors and other response options. The company said it uses recursive neural network (RvNN) machine learning models for classification.
Echodyne CEO Eben Frankenberg said radar data fidelity and accuracy are increasingly critical for defensive systems. Trust Automation CEO Ty Safreno said the integration is intended to improve detection range and accuracy and enable earlier identification of threats.
The announcement was released during Counter-UAS Technology Europe 2026 in London, where Echodyne said Frankenberg was scheduled to speak on April 20. The company also said it would appear at Modern Day Marine in Washington, DC on April 28–30.
