L3Harris Technologies has unveiled a new pair of launched effects vehicles aimed at expanding the U.S. military’s options for precision strike and electronic warfare across domains.
Announced on 17 July, the Red Wolf and Green Wolf systems mark the beginning of what the company describes as a broader family of multi-role munitions.
Red Wolf is a kinetic long-range strike platform, while Green Wolf is configured for electronic warfare tasks, including electronic attack and the ability to detect, identify, locate and report signals. Both are designed to operate from air, ground or maritime platforms and support in-flight retargeting, collaboration between vehicles and swarming operations.
According to L3Harris, the two systems are modular and software-defined, which allows for integration of new payloads and updates without redesigning the hardware. The company claims to have conducted over 40 test flights and plans to move into low-rate initial production by the end of 2025.
The wait is over.
Introducing Red Wolf ᵀᴹ and Green Wolf ᵀᴹ, the first vehicles in our expanding pack of launched effects systems. pic.twitter.com/d4oG7fgeE4
— L3Harris (@L3HarrisTech) July 17, 2025
L3Harris say that the ‘Wolf’ vehicles are designed to be adaptable across services and roles, but there has been no official U.S. Department of Defense endorsement or procurement announcement so far.
The unveiling comes amid heightened Pentagon interest in affordable, networked munitions that can operate in contested environments and reduce dependence on more expensive, traditional platforms. Whether Red Wolf and Green Wolf will find a role in existing U.S. concepts like the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft or the U.S. Army’s launched effects initiatives remains to be seen.
The US has a staggering amount of cheap ‘cruise’ missiles coming online this year from all sorts of different manufactures- air force docs say they’re getting 3000 under the FAMM program this year alone.
They can only do this as they are planning to launch them from the back of a C17. Building the missiles can be done relatively cost effectively. It’s integrating and launching them from expensive fighters, SSN’s and Warships that is the expensive and time consuming part.
Launching them out the back of a cargo plane requires no integration.
If the UK wants 7,000 cruise missiles then it needs to invest in an A400M/C17 launched 1,000 mile range cruise missile as well as a truck lunched 2000 mile+ range solution using an affordable solution like MBDA are outlining for the French rather than an expensive gimmick like Typhon Mk41 launcher.
Combining these two approaches would allow us to launch several hundred missiles at Russia a day which should be a strong deterrent against them targeting us.
Russias air defences are clearly a joke and it’s incredibly vulnerable to mass cruise missile strikes. It should be relatively straight forward to take out most of Russia’s remaining bomber fleet on the ground preventing it from lunching mass cruise missile strikes on the UK.
Morning Jim, just thought I’d mention there’s an interesting article in the Telegraph regarding Tempest, if you didn’t already know.
She’s gunna be big !
Thanks I’ll check it out
That was already known, like a modern day Mosquito.
Oh I do hope so, I prey it will have a couple of “Modern day” Merlins too.
Vroooooooooommmmm.
Yes Airpower wags were invited by BAE last year from memory, for a taster of what was developing, the main thing they could take away with any confidence was the size, amazing what can be done without other countries limiting potential.
How did an interesting article make it into the Telegraph? 😉
“Combining these two approaches would allow us to launch several hundred missiles at Russia a day”
Absolute bollox. Which pipe-dream did you dream this load of crap up from?
David I think you establish clearly in your many posts that you lack basic maths and you have no understanding of the rapid dragon system.
I think we have already gathered that David lacks considerable understanding as to how to even do up the flies on his own trousers, or whatever they call them in Russian circles, so an insightful post from him here is about as likely as finding out Trump never met Epstein for a casual hook up.
Also I would like to add:-
Why are you so nasty? It doesn’t cost you anything to both disagree and be civil at the same time.
Lighten up David!
Mark I think you fail to see through his whole reason for being here. If he were to lighten up his whole rationale for posting would be gone and he would be using his time more profitably by making out with his borscht and vodka or off to a Barynya class.
Any weapon that is launched out of the back of a transport aircraft will either need its flight plan and target preprogrammed before take off. Or be capable of being programmed during the flight within the aircraft. There is a third option, of programming the weapon/effector during its flight to either change its target and waypoints or to refine the flight plan, following updated route information. The weapon /effector must be powered up in the aircraft. So perhaps it can be programmed during flight whilst still in the aircraft?
The US Rapid Dragon is a significant force multiplier. Depending on the cargo aircraft can launch a swarm of cruise missiles way beyond an enemy’s air defence screen. For example a C17 can carry 5 of the pallets, each holding 9 JASSM-ERs. To put that in context, a B52 can only carry 20 JASSM, whereas a C17 can carry 45. I don’t think a A400M would be much behind the C17 in the number of pallets it can carry, when a smaller C130 can carry only 2 pallets, ie 3 or 4 pallets.
I do feel MBDA is missing a trick here. Could the likes of Storm Shadow or the future FCASW (TP15 and RJ10) be launched by this method? What about a pallet launched swarm of Spear-3 and Spear-EW? I also feel that MBDA should be looking at a scaled up version of Spear-3. That fills the gap between the standard Spear-3 and TP15.
I digress, costs of air tanker is absolutely astonishing.
Is this Grumpy Saturday per chance ? 😂😂😂
“don’t make me grumpy, you wouldn’t like me when I’m grumpy”
(it’s close enough I feel !)
C-130 pallets “only” carry six JASSM a piece, two pallets per plane for 12 missiles. C-17 pallets carry nine, up to five per plane, as stated above.