Coyote Loitering Drone Interceptors Have Arrived On U.S. Navy Destroyers
As recently released picture of the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Bainbridge offers a good look at new launchers for Coyote counter-drone interceptors installed on the ship. Earlier this year, the U.S. Navy announced that destroyers assigned to escort the supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford would be armed with Raytheon Coyote and/or Anduril Roadrunner-M counter-drone systems. In addition to being lower-cost than traditional surface-to-air missiles, Coyote and Roadrunner-M have loitering capabilities that allow them to be more dynamically employed against incoming uncrewed threats.
The Navy released the picture of Bainbridge sailing in the Ionian Sea between Italy and Greece over the weekend, but it was taken on July 27, 2025. It is one of three Arleigh Burke class destroyers currently assigned to the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, the others being USS Winston S. Churchill and USS Mitscher. The Winston S. Churchill is serving as the strike group’s air defense commander, a role that certain Arleigh Burkes have increasingly been taking over from a dwindling fleet of aging Ticonderoga class cruisers.
The new counter-drone interceptor launchers are installed on the port side of Bainbridge‘s aft superstructure near the ship’s rear Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) array.