Boeing Unveils Low-Cost Radar Seeker for Guided Weapons
Boeing revealed its Ultra Low-Cost Seeker (ULCS) at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, on August 11, 2026. Built from commercial off-the-shelf parts, the active radar seeker aims to reduce missile costs, enabling larger military procurement. Designed for reuse across interceptors, bombs, and cruise missiles, it passed summer tests including airborne tracking and rocket launches. Boeing plans further flight tests in 2027. The announcement follows Lockheed Martin's similar Strigo seeker.
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Boeing unveils cheap radar seeker built from off-the-shelf parts
Boeing revealed an ultra-low-cost radar seeker (ULCS) at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, on August 11, 2026. The seeker is built largely from commercial off-the-shelf parts adapted for military use, aiming to reduce the high cost of seekers that limits military procurement. ULCS is an active seeker that emits its own radar signal, designed for air, land, and sea strikes in any weather against moving targets. Boeing tested the seeker in an anechoic chamber, aboard a Beechcraft 1900 over land and water, tracking a drone from a fixed position, and launching it on a rocket to track a target drone. The company emphasizes modularity and open standards to allow reuse across air and missile defense interceptors, guided bombs, and cruise missiles. Boeing draws on its experience building seekers for the Lockheed Martin PAC-3 interceptor. Further flight tests are planned for 2027. Competitor Lockheed Martin also announced a modular seeker line called Strigo on August 10.
Boeing unveils cheap radar seeker built from off-the-shelf parts
Boeing revealed its Ultra Low-Cost Seeker (ULCS) at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama. The active radar seeker is built largely from commercial off-the-shelf parts to reduce cost, which Boeing argues limits how many guided weapons the military can buy. The seeker is designed for reuse across air and missile defense interceptors, guided bombs, and cruise missiles. Boeing conducted several tests earlier in the summer, including chamber tests, airborne tracking from a Beechcraft 1900, ground-based drone tracking at Spaceport America, and a rocket launch test against a drone reflector. The seeker survived acceleration and vibration and successfully detected and tracked targets. Boeing aims to share a common sensor architecture across programs, though further flight tests are planned for 2027. Competitor Lockheed Martin also announced a modular seeker line, Strigo, on August 10.
Boeing unveils cheap radar seeker built from off-the-shelf parts
Boeing revealed an ultra-low-cost radar seeker (ULCS) at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, on August 11, 2026. The active seeker is built largely from commercial off-the-shelf components adapted for military use, aiming to reduce the high cost of seekers that limits military procurement. Boeing tested the ULCS in an anechoic chamber, aboard a Beechcraft 1900 over land and water, and at Spaceport America where it tracked drones from a fixed position and during a rocket launch. The seeker survived acceleration and vibration tests and successfully detected and tracked targets. Boeing plans to reuse the modular, open-standard design across air and missile defense interceptors, guided bombs, and cruise missiles. The company drew on its experience building seekers for Lockheed Martin's PAC-3 interceptor. Further flight tests are planned for 2027. Lockheed Martin announced a similar modular seeker technology, Strigo, on August 10.
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Boeing unveils cheap radar seeker built from off-the-shelf parts
Boeing revealed its Ultra Low-Cost Seeker (ULCS) at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama. The active radar seeker is built largely from commercial off-the-shelf parts to reduce cost, which Boeing argues limits how many guided weapons the military can buy. The ULCS is designed for reuse across air and missile defense interceptors, guided bombs, and cruise missiles, using a modular open architecture. Boeing conducted tests in an anechoic chamber, on a Beechcraft 1900 over land and water, and at Spaceport America, where the seeker tracked drones and survived acceleration and vibration. The company plans further flight tests in 2027. Lockheed Martin announced a competing modular seeker technology, Strigo, on August 10.
Boeing unveils cheap radar seeker built from off-the-shelf parts
Boeing revealed its Ultra Low-Cost Seeker (ULCS) at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama. The active radar seeker is built largely from commercial off-the-shelf parts adapted for military use, aiming to reduce the high cost of seekers that limits military procurement. Boeing tested the ULCS in an anechoic chamber, on a Beechcraft 1900 over land and water, and at Spaceport America where it tracked drones from a fixed position and from a rocket. The seeker survived acceleration and vibration tests. Boeing plans to reuse the modular, open-standard design across air and missile defense interceptors, guided bombs, and cruise missiles. The company already builds seekers for Lockheed Martin's PAC-3 interceptor. Further flight tests are planned for 2027. Lockheed Martin recently announced a similar modular seeker technology called Strigo.
Boeing unveils cheap radar seeker built from off-the-shelf parts
Boeing revealed its Ultra Low-Cost Seeker (ULCS) at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, on August 11, 2026. The active radar seeker is built largely from commercial off-the-shelf components adapted for military use, aiming to reduce the high cost of seekers—one of the most expensive parts of guided weapons. Boeing tested the ULCS in an anechoic chamber, aboard a Beechcraft 1900 over land and water, and at Spaceport America, where it tracked drones from a fixed position and after being mounted on a rocket. The seeker survived acceleration and vibration tests and successfully detected and tracked targets. Boeing plans to reuse the modular, open-standard design across air and missile defense interceptors, guided bombs, and cruise missiles. The company did not disclose funding sources or exact cost. Competitor Lockheed Martin announced a similar modular seeker technology, Strigo, on August 10.
Boeing unveils cheap radar seeker built from off-the-shelf parts
Boeing revealed an Ultra Low-Cost Seeker (ULCS) at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, on August 11, 2026. The active radar seeker is built largely from commercial off-the-shelf parts adapted for military use, aiming to reduce the high cost of seekers, which are among the most expensive components of guided weapons. Boeing argues that seeker cost limits the number of missiles the military can buy. The ULCS is designed for reuse across air and missile defense interceptors, guided bombs, and cruise missiles, using a modular, open-standard architecture. Boeing conducted several tests earlier in the summer, including anechoic chamber tests, airborne tracking from a Beechcraft 1900, ground-based drone tracking at Spaceport America, and a rocket launch test against a drone target. The seeker survived acceleration and vibration and successfully tracked targets. Boeing plans further flight tests in 2027. The announcement follows Lockheed Martin's similar modular seeker technology, Strigo, revealed the previous day.
Boeing unveils cheap radar seeker built from off-the-shelf parts
Boeing revealed its Ultra Low-Cost Seeker (ULCS) at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama. The active radar seeker is built largely from commercial off-the-shelf parts adapted for military use, aiming to reduce the high cost of seekers, which are among the most expensive components of guided weapons. Boeing claims the modular, open-standard design allows reuse across air and missile defense interceptors, guided bombs, and cruise missiles, potentially enabling the military to buy more guided weapons. The company conducted several tests earlier in the summer, including chamber tests, airborne tracking from a Beechcraft 1900, ground-based drone tracking, and a rocket launch test, all of which the seeker survived and performed as expected. Boeing plans further flight tests in 2027 to replicate real-world scenarios. The announcement comes alongside Lockheed Martin's similar modular seeker technology, Strigo.
Boeing unveils cheap radar seeker built from off-the-shelf parts
Boeing revealed an ultra-low-cost radar seeker (ULCS) at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, on August 11, 2026. The active seeker, built largely from commercial off-the-shelf parts adapted for military use, is designed to reduce the high cost of missile guidance systems, which Boeing argues limits military procurement. The ULCS is intended for use across air and missile defense interceptors, guided bombs, and cruise missiles, leveraging a modular, open-standard architecture for reuse. Boeing conducted several tests in summer 2026, including anechoic chamber checks, airborne tracking from a Beechcraft 1900, ground-based drone tracking at Spaceport America, and a rocket launch against a drone target. The seeker survived acceleration and vibration and successfully tracked targets. Boeing plans further flight tests in 2027 to simulate real-world scenarios. The announcement follows Lockheed Martin's similar modular seeker technology, Strigo, unveiled the previous day.