Australia awards EOS contract for R400 Slinger C-UAS
Australian Army Hawkei protected mobility vehicles integrated with the EOS R400 Slinger. (Leidos Australia)
The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has awarded an AUD5.7 million (USD3.9 million) contract to Canberra-based Electro Optic Systems (EOS) to procure an undisclosed number of R400 Slinger counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs).
The DoD said on 8 July that the contract was awarded under Project Mission Syracuse, launched in May 2025 to advance Australian Defence Force capabilities to counter small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
According to the DoD, the R400 Slinger uses a laser-guided rocket and machine gun to neutralise UAV threats. EOS states that the system can track and engage UAVs at ranges beyond 800 m.
The system is equipped with the Bushmaster M230 Link Fed (LF) 30×113 mm cannon, Echodyne EchoGuard 4D multi-mission surveillance radar, a four-axis sighting system with an independently stabilised sensor unit, and lightweight 30 mm proximity-fused ammunition. It can also support 70 mm rocket effectors.
The Echodyne EchoGuard radar has a detection range of 3.5 km for vehicles and 2.2 km for humans.
The sensor's day camera provides detection, recognition, and identification ranges of 12,000 m, 5,600 m, and 4,700 m respectively. The thermal imager offers corresponding ranges of 13,700 m, 5,100 m, and 4,000 m, EOS said.
During Exercise ‘Southern Arrow' in December 2025, the Australian Army tested the R400 Slinger fitted with M134D minigun, MAG-58, and M230LF 30 mm cannon configurations on Thales Australia Hawkei light protected mobility vehicles.
EOS had not responded to Janes request for more information at the time of publication.
For more, please see: Australia boosts investment in C-UAS capabilities
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