CACI SkyValor

CACI's SkyValor is a long-range, autonomous counter-drone system that defeats small drones without gunfire, combining radio-frequency jamming with nets that capture UAS intact.

Overview

SkyValor is a long-range, autonomous counter-unmanned-aircraft system (C-UAS) built by CACI International. It detects, tracks, identifies and defeats drones by non-kinetic means — radio-frequency jamming and physical capture nets — rather than with guns or missiles. CACI markets it as part of a wider counter-drone (C-UxS) suite and says the system fuses RF, radar and electro-optical/infrared sensors to engage everything from small first-person-view (FPV) quadcopters to Group 5 platforms, the US military's largest UAS category, according to CACI and DefenseScoop.

On June 7, 2026, Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF-401), the Army-led body that coordinates Pentagon counter-drone work, validated SkyValor for use across the entire US Joint Force after a two-day evaluation at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, per DVIDS, DefenseScoop and SOFX. The system is mounted on a mobile trailer and, per CACI, senses around the clock and can respond autonomously or with a human in the loop. Its distinguishing feature is that it aims to disable or capture a drone without destroying it — an approach US officials call "low-collateral," valued both over populated areas and for recovering an intact drone whose origin can then be analyzed, according to DefenseScoop.

Development

SkyValor was previously marketed under the name Merlin, per SOFX and DefenseScoop. CACI, a large US information-technology and defense-electronics contractor, developed it inside a counter-drone portfolio that also includes the backpackable BEAM electronic-attack system, the fixed-site CORIAN system and the SPaRK passive radar, per CACI. The company presents its C-UAS technology as software-defined and built around what it calls the world's largest signals and threat database, claiming more than 700 systems deployed globally and a library of over 1,000 unique UAV radio and flight-computer signatures — figures that are CACI marketing claims and not independently verified, per CACI.

The system was shown publicly as Merlin at Falcon Peak 2025, a US Northern Command counter-small-UAS experiment held in September 2025 to test industry systems against drone incursions at military installations, including drones that emit no radio signal, per CACI, NORTHCOM and Breaking Defense. NORTHCOM's deputy test director said participating systems "were successful in some, not successful in others," and that full analysis would take time, per Breaking Defense — a reminder that vendor performance at such events is uneven and not equivalent to combat proof.

Design & capabilities

SkyValor is a multi-sensor, multi-effector system. For detection and tracking it fuses radio-frequency sensing, radar and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) cameras, cross-referencing signals against CACI's drone-signature database to classify targets, per CACI and Defense Daily. CACI says the system can detect and defeat Group 1-5 UAS — from small FPV drones to the largest military platforms — from more than 75 km (over 40 miles) away in some cases, a range the company calls "record-breaking," per CACI, Inside Defense and DefenseScoop. Earlier Merlin marketing described the 75 km figure as applying to smaller Group 1-3 drones, per CACI; the scope of the claim appears to have broadened over time, and none of these ranges is independently confirmed.

Its defeat mechanisms are non-kinetic. The primary effect is RF jamming, which severs the control and navigation links a drone depends on; CACI states SkyValor can jam some targets from more than 40 miles, per DefenseScoop and SOFX. The system also fires nets to physically capture drones from nearly four miles, a "low/no-collateral" option that can bring a UAS down intact, per DefenseScoop. CACI describes these responses as running on "automated sense-and-shoot algorithms" with 24/7 automated sensing, and says operators can run the system autonomously or man-in-the-loop, per DefenseScoop and CACI. All of these performance figures originate with CACI; the Pentagon has not published independent test data.

As with any jammer, the practical effect is degradation of a link rather than guaranteed destruction. A drone using fibre-optic control, onboard autonomy or frequency-agile links may retain some capability even under jamming — a limitation Pentagon officials and outside analysts flag across the counter-drone field, per Warrior Maven.

Combat record / operational use

SkyValor has no confirmed combat record. Its documented history is a sequence of US demonstrations and a validation for domestic use. After appearing as Merlin at Falcon Peak 2025, per CACI and Breaking Defense, the system was evaluated over two days in mid-May 2026 at MCAS Yuma by JIATF-401, alongside Joint Task Force-Southern Border and US Customs and Border Protection, against drones flown at varied ranges, altitudes and flight paths, per DVIDS and DefenseScoop. On June 7, 2026, JIATF-401 announced the system had passed and was "validated for use as one component of a layered C-UAS defense across the entire Joint Force," in the words of task-force spokesman Lt. Col. Adam Scher.

The test sat inside a wider US push to field counter-drone systems along the US-Mexico border, a zone Gen. Gregory Guillot of US Northern Command has called a "literal and figurative sandbox" for such gear, per Business Insider. US officials frame the urgency in terms of the drone war in Ukraine and of hostile drones that have killed US troops — six service members in Kuwait in March 2026 and three soldiers in Jordan in 2024, per Business Insider. Whether the Yuma validation is tied to a production contract is unclear; CACI declined to answer and the Pentagon deferred questions, per DefenseScoop and SOFX.

Advantages

• Non-kinetic, low-collateral defeat: jamming and net capture can neutralize drones without gunfire, suiting use over populated areas and border zones, per DefenseScoop and DVIDS.
• Intact recovery: capturing a drone rather than destroying it lets investigators analyze its origin and payload, per DefenseScoop.
• Autonomy and persistence: CACI says the trailer-mounted system senses 24/7 and can respond autonomously or man-in-the-loop, reducing operator load.
• Multi-sensor fusion: combining RF, radar and EO/IR helps detect drones that are hard to catch on any single sensor, including some that emit no RF, per CACI.
• Cleared for Joint Force-wide use, giving it an open path to fielding across US services, per DefenseScoop.

Drawbacks / limitations

• No combat record: the system's performance rests on a domestic validation and vendor claims, not front-line use.
• Company-sourced figures: the 75+ km detection, 40-mile jamming and four-mile net ranges all originate with CACI and are not independently verified.
• Jamming is not absolute: fibre-optic, autonomous or frequency-agile drones can blunt RF-based defeat, per Warrior Maven.
• Mobility limits: the trailer-mounted design is movable but does not follow foot patrols — a gap NORTHCOM's commander flagged at the same border where SkyValor was tested, per SOFX and Business Insider.
• Unclear procurement: no confirmed production order or unit cost is publicly established.

Counterparts

SkyValor's closest functional analogue is the Fortem DroneHunter F700, another autonomous system that captures drones with a net instead of destroying them. Most other counter-drone effectors are kinetic: Coyote is an interceptor family used to strike drones, Skyranger 30 is a gun-based short-range air-defense turret, and Bullfrog is an AI-directed gun turret built for autonomous engagement. SkyValor differs from all of these by defeating targets non-kinetically — through jamming and capture — while sharing their emphasis on automation and layered defense.

Outlook

SkyValor enters a crowded, fast-moving US counter-drone market. The Pentagon's fiscal 2026 counter-drone request runs to about $3.1 billion, and JIATF-401 has been validating and buying systems at speed, per Warrior Maven and Business Insider. Joint Force validation clears SkyValor for wider fielding, but CACI has not disclosed a production order, and the decisive question is whether validation converts into volume purchases, per DefenseScoop and SOFX. The system's future value will hinge on how well non-kinetic defeat holds up against drones designed to resist jamming — fibre-optic and autonomous types in particular — and on cost per engagement relative to kinetic interceptors. No production rate, inventory or unit price is publicly established.

Key specifications

Sources

1. DefenseScoop — "Pentagon approves long-range, autonomous counter-UAS system for use across the military after border testing." https://defensescoop.com/2026/06/09/pentagon-approves-autonomous-counter-drone-system-after-border-testing/
2. DVIDS (JIATF-401 press release) — "JIATF 401 Validates Next-Generation Counter-Drone Technology at Yuma." https://www.dvidshub.net/news/567050/jiatf-401-validates-next-generation-counter-drone-technology-yuma
3. Defense Daily — "CACI's SkyValor Counter-Drone System Validated For Operational Use By JIATF-401." https://www.defensedaily.com/cacis-skyvalor-counter-drone-system-validated-for-operational-use-by-jiatf-401/unmanned-systems/
4. SOFX — "Pentagon Clears CACI SkyValor Counter-Drone System for Joint Force Use After Yuma Test." https://www.sofx.com/pentagon-clears-caci-skyvalor-counter-drone-system-for-joint-force-use-after-yuma-test/
5. Inside Defense — "JIATF-401 validates SkyValor counter-drone system for operational use." https://insidedefense.com/insider/jiatf-401-validates-skyvalor-counter-drone-system-operational-use
6. ExecutiveGov — "SkyValor UAS Completes JIATF-401 Counter-Drone Demonstration." https://www.executivegov.com/articles/skyvalor-uas-jiatf-401-counter-drone-demo
7. Business Insider — "A US task force gearing up for a counter-drone fight put a new autonomous system to the test at the southern border." https://www.businessinsider.com/us-tests-new-autonomous-counter-drone-system-at-southern-border-2026-6
8. CACI — "Counter Unmanned Systems (C-UxS)." https://www.caci.com/cuxs
9. CACI — "Falcon Peak." https://www.caci.com/falcon-peak
10. CACI — "New C-UxS technology extends range, closes critical gap in homeland defense." https://www.caci.com/trending/new-c-uxs-technology-extends-range-closes-critical-gap-homeland-defense
11. Breaking Defense — "As drones plague US bases, the military tests its defenses." https://breakingdefense.com/2025/10/drone-incursions-us-military-falcon-peak-2025-cuas/
12. US Northern Command — "Falcon Peak highlights need to counter UAS threat." https://www.northcom.mil/Newsroom/News/Article/Article/4315312/falcon-peak-highlights-need-to-counter-uas-threat/
13. UAS Magazine — "Perennial Autonomy awarded $500 million IDIQ contract to deliver counter-drone systems to U.S. Department of War." https://uasmagazine.com/articles/perennial-autonomy-awarded-500-million-idiq-contract-to-deliver-counter-drone-systems-to-us-department-of-war
14. Warrior Maven — "Pentagon Studies Ukraine Drone War Innovations & Cost Efficiencies." https://warriormaven.com/news/air/pentagon-studies-ukraine-drone-war-innovations-cost-efficiencies

🔒 The Analyst Section on CACI SkyValor is for BattlePolicy Pro members. Below the line: procurement and contract history, the suppliers and companies behind the system, our head-to-head analyst view of the systems it actually competes with, and the BattlePolicy assessment note. Unlock the full file with BattlePolicy Pro →