MARSS Systems, an Electro Optic Systems (EOS) company, has signed a £370 million ($489 million) contract to deliver Kuwait a nationwide counter-uncrewed-aircraft system covering airborne and coastal maritime threats. The network will combine electro-optical, radar and sonar sensors with MARSS’s NiDAR artificial-intelligence command-and-control platform, integrating soft-kill jammers and hard-kill interceptors across a layered defence architecture.
NiDAR will fuse data from third-party sensors into a common operational picture, assess and classify threats, and recommend responses for operators. The contract does not identify the selected sensor or effector models, quantities or types of kinetic interceptors.
MARSS will act as prime contractor and systems integrator, with deployment expected over the next 24 months and through 2027. The system is intended to protect Kuwait’s population, critical infrastructure and national assets.
The programme forms part of the UK government’s Taskforce Sabre, which supports Gulf states seeking air-defence and counter-drone capabilities. Production and associated work in Bristol are expected to create about 100 UK engineering and manufacturing jobs. The agreement builds on existing UK-Kuwait defence cooperation, including the Rapid Sentry ground-based air-defence system and the Royal Air Force’s ORCUS counter-drone capability in Kuwait.
EOS has indicated that bond guarantees and export licences must be completed before the contract can commence.