The Slinger remote weapon system from EOS Defence Systems was demonstrated as part of the U.S. Army’s Sling Blade counter-drone platform during the Summit Strike live-fire exercise on April 14.
According to Defence Blog, the exercise, conducted by the 10th Mountain Division, focused on planning and integrating emerging technologies within a contested, large-scale combat environment, bringing together multinational forces and industry participants to coordinate effects across multiple domains.
In this context, the Sling Blade platform took part in a two-hour live-fire activity that placed the counter-drone system alongside field artillery, Apache attack helicopters, electronic warfare assets, and unmanned ground vehicles.
As a result, the Army was able to test how counter-drone capability integrates and operates within a broader, layered systems environment—the type of scenario it expects to face in future high-end conflicts.
The Sling Blade system itself integrates several distinct components into a single counter-drone solution. It includes the Slinger counter-drone weapon system from EOS, paired with a 30 mm cannon, a four-pack launcher for Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) rockets, and an SRC radar.
Taking into account lessons learned from the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, counter-drone capability has shifted from a niche requirement to a central modernization priority for the Army in recent years, driven by the proliferation of commercial and military drones across virtually all conflict environments.
Photo: EOS Defence Systems USA. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
