U.S. Army has ordered new Giraffe 1X counter‑drone radars from Swedish defense giant Saab for $48 million a contract that very likely aims to help counter unknown and russian UAVs that have recently threatened NATO bases.
First, the deal was booked in Q3 2025 (July–September), with deliveries slated to begin in 2026 an unusually fast reaction to the evolving threat. Second, Saab's announcement stresses the contract supports security partners, so it's likely these radars will be deployed to protect allied territory.
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The Giraffe 1X is an X‑band radar (IEEE/X‑band, NATO I) with a detection range up to 75 km. Its key advantages are compact size and low weight under 300 kg which allows mounting on small vehicles or vessels.
That makes it a highly mobile, easy‑to‑deploy sensor for detecting aerial threats (most often UAVs), and it can also function as a counter‑battery radar to track mortar and artillery fire.
Saab has already used the 1X as part of various air‑defence solutions for example in a full MSHORAD suite based on the RBS 70 NG and even leveraged it in rapid developments like the shahed‑killer Loke, produced in four months.
So far theres no public information that the U.S. is purchasing anything beyond the radars themselves, though future integration with counter‑UAS effectors seems plausible.
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