Breaking News
U.S.'s Bullfrog Counter-UAS system wins South Korea-UAE orders as Romania joins production.
Allen Control Systems on 5 November 2025 said the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces have ordered its Bullfrog autonomous weapon systems, with training, technical assistance, and sustainment, while Romania signed a memorandum of understanding for local co-production.
On 5 November 2025, Allen Control Systems announced new export contracts and a European industrial foothold that underline how rapidly close-in counter-drone defenses are moving from trials to fielding. As announced by Allen Control Systems, the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces have ordered Bullfrog autonomous weapon systems with training, technical assistance, and sustainment, while Romania has signed a memorandum of understanding for local co-production. The announcement also flags new ACS offices in Europe and Asia to support demand. In a global environment where small UAS and FPV swarms are reshaping land operations and site protection, these deals indicate that Bullfrog is being adopted as a near-term, scalable kinetic layer against Group 1–3 threats.
Bullfrog is an AI-driven, passive-sensor autonomous weapon station that mounts to legacy or modern guns to deliver precise close-in kinetic defeat of Group 1–3 drones on vehicles, vessels, or fixed sites (Picture Source: Allen Control Systems)
The contracts with South Korea and the UAE cover delivery of Bullfrog systems together with operator training, technical assistance, and through-life sustainment, suggesting a rapid fielding pathway rather than a technology demonstration. ACS positions Bullfrog as an autonomous precision weapon station that can be mounted on legacy or modern platforms to improve first-round effects against low, slow, small targets, a requirement increasingly evident around critical infrastructure and maneuver formations alike. The company frames Bullfrog as a ready, combat-relevant option for close-in kinetic defeat at scale, and is expanding its regional presence to execute these programs.
The Romania memorandum of understanding is notable for its industrial content: a local co-production framework typically shortens logistics chains, supports faster spiral upgrades, and aligns with NATO allies’ broader push to regionalize supply for high-consumption counter-UAS equipment. Although quantities and timelines have not been disclosed, the MoU’s focus on in-country production indicates intent to build assembly and sustainment capacity on the Alliance’s eastern flank. ACS lists the Romania agreement alongside its export awards and states that new European and Asian offices will support these markets, a signal that the company expects persistent regional demand.
ACS has not specified which Bullfrog variants will be delivered to either customer, and multiple weapon configurations exist. The Bullfrog M240 mounts a 7.62×51 mm NATO weapon with a listed 850 rds/min cyclic rate, <1 MOA pointing accuracy, and a maximum effective range against point targets of about 800 m. The module is pitched for “individual platform” all-purpose defense against Group 1–3 UAS, operating with autonomous detection, tracking, and identification while retaining a human-in-the-loop command to fire.
For higher-mass targets or extended standoff, the Bullfrog M2 pairs the system with a .50 cal/12.7 mm weapon at roughly 600 rds/min, maintaining <1 MOA pointing accuracy and extending point-target engagements to about 1,500 m. ACS describes this configuration as suitable for individual platform advanced defense and “final protective fires” against Group 3+ UAS. At the top end, the Bullfrog M230 integrates a 30×113 mm chain gun, listed at ~200 rds/min and 250 lbs (without ammo), with point-target reach quoted between 800 and 1,500 m depending on ammunition, and is characterized as countering Group 2–3 UAS with Group 3+ final protective fires.
The M134 configuration focuses on suppressive and swarm scenarios: a 7.62×51 mm minigun delivering 2,000–6,000 rds/min, with the same <1 MOA pointing accuracy and an 800 m point-target figure, oriented to Group 1–2 UAS/FPV/swarms with Group 3 final protective fires. Across the family, ACS emphasizes a passive sensor stack, no radar emissions, that reduces detectability, open-architecture integration with common C2 frameworks such as ATAK and FAAD C2, and a claimed cost-per-kill “as low as $10” when using service-common weapons and ammunition. These features aim to let forces layer Bullfrog on vehicles, vessels, or fixed sites while minimizing signatures and recurring costs; they also explain why operator training and technical assistance are bundled into the new export contracts.
Operationally, Bullfrog has been moving beyond concept trials. Army Recognition reported this week that the U.S. Army is testing the turret on Abrams tanks and Bradley IFVs, underscoring the push to give armor organic protection against UAS at the “last hundred meters.” Separately, ACS points to earlier U.S. programs involving Army Applications Lab and Special Operations Command, including maritime applications, as evidence of maturity. While national requirements will shape whether customers favor the 7.62 mm, .50 cal, 30 mm, or minigun variants, the common fire-control software, passive detection approach, and C2 interoperability are the technological constants that Romania’s co-production plan and the South Korea/UAE deliveries are set to take into serial use.
The message for defense planners is clear: close-in kinetic defeat is joining electronic and cyber measures as a standard layer of counter-UAS architecture, and export customers are beginning to lock in supply chains, training pipelines, and local industrial participation to sustain it. The ACS awards to South Korea and the UAE, together with the Romania co-production MoU and new regional offices, indicate that Bullfrog’s passive, open-architecture approach, and its range of weapon options from 7.62 mm to 30 mm, is being adopted as a practical answer to Group 1–3 threats at scale.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.