The Morris-IP defense system portfolio grew out of a research project that sought to develop an effective defense system against Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPGs).  This research was spurred by the Battle of Mogadishu which took place in Somalia on October 3-4 of 1993. In that engagement, US military forces suffered a significant defeat at the hands of a local militia. The main tactical lesson of the battle was the extreme vulnerability of combat helicopters to attack and downing by RPG’s. The battle cost the lives of 18 US Army personnel, with an additional 73 wounded. Two heavily armed Sikorski UH-60 Black Hawk combat helicopters were shot down by RPG, with a third UH-60 damaged by an RPG but able to return to base.  Many of the US casualties were inflicted during the rescue operation to recover the airmen and combat troops that went down in the helicopters. The incident would become known as “Black Hawk Down”. It had far-reaching consequences that are still felt more than 30 years on.

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Black Hawk Down exemplified asymmetric warfare: a single combatant, using a $500 weapon, could destroy a $10 million helicopter. Three decades later, history repeats itself in Ukraine. Today, a single operator using a $1,000 FPV drone can destroy a $15 million main battle tank. The same asymmetric reality that shaped the Morris-IP defense system portfolio then is playing out now. The Morris-IP defense system was designed for this moment: countering today’s most pressing asymmetric threat—weaponized drones.

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APS Innovation: The Rocket-Towed Barrier (RTB)

US Patent 8,122,810

US Patent 8,399,816

Our research resulted in Morris-IP’s first patented APS innovation: The Rocket-Towed Barrier (RTB). The RTB drew the attention of DARPA, the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, and NAVAIR China Lake. Our consultations with these leading defense R&D centers informed our continuing development of innovative APS systems. The RTB was prototyped and successfully test flown at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick, Canada. The Rocket-Towed Barrier is ideal for use in net-based counter-drone systems. Compared to ballistic nets, it can stay in the air longer, and intercept drones faster and farther out. The RTB can be enhanced for maneuvering and target seeking. The Rocket-Towed Barrier is an innovative step in protective systems. A tough mesh barrier that can be stored and launched from a tube. The barrier is inflated by aerodynamic forces, and is designed to entangle, damage, or detonate threats that encounter it in flight. The barrier is unique in that it loiters in the pathway of incoming threats, and it provides protection at a standoff distance from the defended vehicle. Moreover, the RTB is a non-hard kill defensive countermeasure, making it unique in the world of APS countermeasures. The Rocket-Towed Barrier has many derivative use cases, such as being used as a loitering IR decoy platform, a less-lethal area denial system, or a standoff defensive barrier system in cases such as combat landing zone operations.

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APS Innovation: The Spinning Turret Active Targeting (STAT) system

US Patent 8,536,500

An absolute requirement of any practical Active Protection System is the ability to launch defensive countermeasures very quickly. Attacks can come from any direction or elevation, so an active protection system must be capable of aiming and launching its countermeasures toward any direction or elevation on a millisecond timescale. No conventional slewing turret can achieve this. These requirements led to the second major innovation in our APS portfolio: A continuously rotating defensive countermeasure aiming and launching system, known as the Spinning Turret Active Targeting (STAT) system. This innovative turret system addresses unmet requirements for active protection systems, including millisecond aim-and-launch capability for any azimuth and elevation, standoff defensive capability that engages threats at a distance from the defended vehicle, and the ability to mount a variety of countermeasures including hard-kill, decoy, obscurant, and projected barriers like the RTB. Perhaps most consequential is the ability of the rotating turret to engage multiple threats at once, as in the case of drone swarms.

The continuously rotating turret provides ground vehicles or defended emplacements with full hemispherical defensive coverage. The system can very rapidly launch multiple hard-kill countermeasures into the pathway of an oncoming missile, confronting threats with a layered zone of hard-kill defensive munitions. This raises the possibility of an effective defense against threats such as HEAT rounds, artillery, and APFSDS kinetic rounds.  

In the case of helicopter deployment, the turret provides full coverage all around and everywhere below, thereby creating full defensive coverage against ground-fired threats.

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new Innovation: A Drone Defense System

Patent Pending

Our technology is ideally suited for defending against hostile drones. Morris IP has a pending US Patent application that updates our unique APS technology to address weaponized drones and drone swarms. When issued, this patent will extend our IP portfolio for many years into the future.

Our pending patent delivers a kinetic last line of defense against drones. It can operate independently, or as part of a layered drone defense in conjunction with longer range CUAS proposals such as lasers. The system particularly seeks to lower the cost and logistical barriers to deployment that limit many current CUAS proposals. The system incorporates all the previously defined innovations in our APS portfolio, while providing additional scope to address current and future APS/CUAS challenges.

The system presents a viable hard-kill defense against drone swarms, as it features a deep magazine, multiple simultaneous engagement capability, and full hemispherical coverage. The system also offers the revolutionary advantage of operating without radiating detection means (i.e. radar). Radar instantly provides adversaries with the defended vehicle’s presence and location. Our system is uniquely suited for advanced detection methods such as AI-enabled sensor fusion. Deep magazine, low system weight and power (SWaP), and simplicity make this system more likely to achieve operational effectiveness, while also making it a candidate for emerging platforms such as UGVs or mobile robotics.