Overview
- Northrop formally introduced Raid Hunter this week as a short‑range air‑defense system that pairs an XM913 chain gun with precision‑guided 50 mm ammunition and a networked system controller.
- The company reported a successful live test in early July at Dahlgren, Virginia, where it fired 36 rounds from an XM913 while capturing video and telemetry that, Northrop says, exceeded pre‑test expectations.
- Northrop says the guided 50 mm rounds are meant to reduce the number of shots needed per target and expects production cost per round to be “in the four digits,” meaning single‑digit thousands of dollars.
- Raid Hunter is built as a modular, palletized system sized for C‑130 transport with planned vehicle and container variants and a deep‑magazine design Northrop says can sustain high rates of fire against massed raids.
- Northrop plans more tests through the rest of the year, expects a first operational prototype in summer 2027, and positions Raid Hunter as a layered, lower‑cost complement to missile interceptors rather than a submission to the Army’s low‑cost interceptor program.