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.

🔒 The rest of the CACI SkyValor file is for BattlePolicy Pro members. Stop here and you miss what actually matters: the full capability and performance detail, the operational and combat record, how it stacks up head-to-head against its real counterparts, the complete specifications, and our analysts' procurement, supplier and assessment notes. Unlock the full file with BattlePolicy Pro →