The German defense company Diehl Defence, primarily known for its missiles and the IRIS-T air defense systems, is nearing the final stages of developing an anti-drone drone designed to counter UAVs. The project, named Cicada, is part of the anti-drone system Sky Sphere, and it was showcased at an exhibition currently taking place in Nuremberg.
It’s important to note that this is not the first demonstration of Cicada, which was previously known as μMissile and publicly showcased in September 2024. However, since then, the development has advanced and visually, it has gained complex wings to reduce the size of the transport-launch container. Furthermore, Diehl has announced that the development will be ready for orders in 2026.
Although Cicada may appear somewhat toy-like, it is an anti-air drone powered by an electric motor that carries a warhead weighing up to 0.5 kg. It can be equipped with either a conventional fragmentation-high explosive warhead or a net with a parachute that is fired toward the target, allowing for non-lethal neutralization of the drone. In this configuration, Cicada can be reused multiple times.
The claimed speed is 200 km/h, with a real operational range of up to 5 km, thanks to ground sensors responsible for target detection, although the drone can fly a greater distance. The altitude of the target is not specified. The guidance of the anti-air drone toward the target operates on a radio command principle.
As for the targets for Cicada, they are specified as UAVs of classes 1 and 2. If we refer to the classification adopted in NATO countries, this indicates the capability to counter drones up to the tactical class, including those weighing up to 600 kg. This means it potentially serves as a fairly versatile tool against a wide range of drone threats, from standard copters like the Mavic to reconnaissance UAVs such as the "Orlan-10" or long-range drones like the Shahed-136.
It is worth noting that Cicada is far from being the only Western anti-air drone, but other similar conceptual developments utilize jet engines, which provide significantly shorter interception times and ranges. For instance, Raytheon's development called Coyote initially aimed to create an interceptor with an electric motor but quickly transformed into a fully-fledged surface-to-air missile.