HUNTSVILLE, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 7, 2026--
EOS Defense Systems USA (EOS) today announced plans to expand production at its Huntsville, Alabama facility for the next generation of Slinger, the company’s flagship counter-drone Remote Weapon System. The product is in the final stages of development and will be produced in the United States beginning in 2027.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006981964/en/
The next-generation Slinger brings critical technology improvements designed to meet an evolving drone threat, including enhanced sensing and autonomous kill chain functionality built to operate at scale. Selectable autonomy is central to the upgrade, recognizing that threats on the modern battlefield move too fast for the decision cycle of a standard system or human operator. Like the current Slinger, it is fully stabilized to engage while on the move and defeats drones and ground threats from a single weapon station without reconfiguration.
“The need for affordable, effective counter-drone capability is visible across the US force today,” said Shawn Baerlocher, Chief Executive Officer of EOS Defense Systems USA. “Our customers need a solution now, built on timelines rapid and flexible enough to match the threat on the modern battlefield.”
Producing the system in Huntsville will shorten supply chains, improve lead times, and lower costs for EOS’ US and allied customers. EOS has built Remote Weapon Systems since the 1990s, and its systems are operationally proven and deployed by militaries across Australia, the Middle East, North America, Europe and Southeast Asia, with more than 3,500 delivered worldwide.
EOS will release more details on the new product and production plans in the coming months.
ABOUT EOS DEFENSE SYSTEMS USA
EOS Defense Systems USA, headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, has served as the regional hub for Electro Optic Systems (ASX: EOS) since 2018. The company provides precision Remote Weapon Systems for counter-UAS (CUAS), ground-to-ground, force protection, and marine missions on all platforms. With roots in space, EOS has spent more than 40 years designing and building precision optical systems that deliver millimeter-level accuracy, from low Earth orbit to cislunar space. The same space-grade tracking and stabilization techniques power the targeting software in every EOS Remote Weapon System, enabling precision on the move on land and at sea. EOS owns its entire design and manufacturing process, supporting faster innovation cycles and direct customer support. EOS Defense Systems USA is ISO 9001 certified. Learn more at www.eosdsusa.com.
ABOUT ELECTRO OPTIC SYSTEMS (ASX: EOS)
Electro Optic Systems (EOS) has designed, manufactured and exported advanced technology systems for more than 40 years. EOS operates in two divisions, Defence Systems and Space Systems. EOS Defence Systems offers remote weapon systems, high-energy laser weapons, UAS interceptors, and integrated counter-UAS and command-and-control (C2) systems, including MARSS’ AI-enabled NiDAR platform. EOS Space Systems applies EOS-developed optical sensors and effectors to detect, track and characterize objects in space. Learn more at www.eos-aus.com.
© EOS Defense Systems USA. This document contains information proprietary to EOS Defense Systems USA. Any reproduction, disclosure or use of the data contained herein is expressly prohibited except as agreed to in writing by EOS Defense Systems USA.
EOS Slinger counter-drone remote weapon system integrated on a vehicle platform
Close up of the EOS Slinger counter-drone remote weapon system.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed that they attacked military facilities and airports in Saudi Arabia as the war between the kingdom and the Iran-backed rebels escalated.
Israelis are marking the third anniversary of the Palestinian militant Hamas group’s deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which sparked a devastating war in Gaza, while for Palestinians the anniversary ushers in yet another day of misery.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Wednesday. Full coverage is available here.
The Houthis used ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, to attack military facilities and airports in Saudi Arabia, the rebels’ military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said Wednesday on social media. He didn’t provide evidence for the claim.
The attacks targeted King Khalid International Airport in the capital, Riyadh, with missiles, he said.
Flights to and from the airport were disrupted, with planes holding away from the airfield, according to Flightradar24, a tracking platform.
Also attacked were Abha airport, military facilities in Khamis Mushait and other “critical sites” in the cities of Najran and Asir, Saree said.
Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, said they intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the rebels north of Riyadh.
The attacks came as Saudi Arabia and its allied Yemeni forces launched a major ground and air offensive on the Houthis on Yemen’s western coast and elsewhere in the country.
The Houthis also said they launched a missile strike early Wednesday against Yemen’s port city of Aden, the seat of the internationally recognized government.
An Associated Press journalist heard explosions that rocked the city around 2 a.m. local time.
Israelis gathered at intersections, bomb shelters and the site of a music festival that Hamas-led militants overran on Oct. 7, 2023, to mark the anniversary of the attack that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. The attack also sparked the war in Gaza and led to a series of conflicts across the Middle East.
“Every morning, you wake up and there is just endless missing,” said Anya Davitashili, who lost her 25-year-old son, Sean, in the attack.
For Palestinians, the anniversary brings another day of misery and difficulties after an Israeli retaliatory campaign in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of people.
Most of the population, about 2 million people, lives in vast, squalid tent camps, with large parts of the strip’s cities reduced to rubble. More than half the territory remains in the hands of the Israeli military, and despite a ceasefire deal reached nearly a year ago, Israeli strikes continue almost daily.
“Since October 7th, we have lived a life we never imagined,” said Gaza City resident Walid Akram. “We witnessed death, destruction, and bombardment that we had never known before."
Hamas has portrayed the Oct. 7 attack as a response to decades of Israeli military occupation, land seizures and settlement construction. No events were expected Wednesday in Gaza
Three years after Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the city of Rafah, which used to be home to a quarter million people, lies in ruins.
The Israeli military has razed the southern city and other towns and districts to the ground, satellite imagery shows.
Demolition, using bulldozers and explosives, has continued since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal was reached a year ago.
Gaza’s devastated landscape is just one of many wounds that the enclave’s 2 million Palestinians have endured since the Israeli campaign that has killed over 74,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. More than one out of every 10 people from Gaza’s prewar population has been killed or wounded by Israeli fire.
With almost the entire population homeless, the coastal territory is now effectively one of the world’s most populated tent cities.
An Israeli drone strike killed one older man and wounded seven other people in southern Gaza on Wednesday, according to health officials.
Dr. Mohamed Saqr, a manager at Nasser Hospital, told The Associated Press that one of the injured was in critical condition.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
Houthi supporters chant slogans during an armed tribal rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
People visit a roadside bomb shelter where people were killed during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack along the Israel-Gaza border, as the country marks the third anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Houthi supporters carry their rifles while attending an armed tribal rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
People mark the third anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel at the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
