The Pentagon has ordered L3Harris fuzes for APKWS rockets worth $52.3 million.
The order is a modification to a contract awarded in May by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division to L3Harris Fuzing and Ordnance Systems. The work will be carried out in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is scheduled for completion by November 2027. The number of fuzes included in the order was not disclosed.
The L3Harris mechanical fuze, also known as FALCO, detonates the warhead when the rocket approaches its target. This allows the warhead to engage a small, fast-moving drone without a direct hit.
The fuze is fitted to the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS), a BAE Systems guidance kit that turns standard 70 mm Hydra rockets into laser-guided munitions.
U.S. F-16s began using proximity-fuzed APKWS rockets against Houthi one-way attack drones over the Red Sea in 2024. During testing at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, APKWS rockets equipped with L3Harris fuzes destroyed Group 3 drones every time.
The same fuze is used in L3Harris’ VAMPIRE mobile counter-drone system, which Ukraine has been using against Russian drones since 2023.
The previous fuze contract, awarded in May, was worth $48.5 million. With options, its value could increase to approximately $98 million. L3Harris said that growing demand is prompting the company to increase fuze production sevenfold.
At the same time, the Pentagon is developing a new air-to-air version of APKWS. In February 2026, the U.S. Air Force awarded BAE Systems a contract worth up to $145 million for a variant of the rocket equipped with a long-wave infrared seeker and proximity fuze. This version is designed to home in on a drone’s heat signature without requiring the aircraft to continuously illuminate the target with a laser.
