KÖNIGSLUTTER, GERMANY (23 February 2026)
Mehler Protection presents SCILT, a new close-range protection system to counter drones attacking land vehicles from short range and low angles. The system is presented for the first time at Enforce Tac 2026.
Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) increasingly no longer approach only from above. Instead, they emerge from terrain, ditches, flanks, and rear sectors, appearing at very short distance and leaving minimal reaction time. SCILT is conceived specifically to address this immediate close-in envelope, where conventional mobile air-defence systems and unit-level counter-UAS solutions reach detection and defeat limits.
SCILT is conceived as a dedicated last protective layer for individual vehicles, addressing the gap between large-scale mobile air defence systems and passive vehicle protection. Designed to counter small drones, including FPV drones, kamikaze drones, and loitering munitions, SCILT operates in close and very close-range engagements and is intended to defeat both single drones and multiple simultaneous threats in the immediate hazard zone.
The system combines effector modules, sensors, and operating logic directly on the vehicle, enabling defence against drones approaching from lateral and frontal directions as well as low-angles. Sensor kits can include electro-optical and other close-range surveillance sensors to support detection and operator decision-making. Cost-effective effector solutions support scalable employment across different mission profiles.
Key characteristics include:
- Close and very close-range protection against drones
- Sector-based configuration, allowing individual directions to be activated or deactivated depending on formation and movement
- Three staged alert levels: detection alert, approach alert, and trigger alert
- In its first version, SCILT operates deliberately with a man-in-the-loop architecture, with further automation planned as technology, procedures, and approval processes evolve
Effector modules use market available standard ammunition types in shotgun-calibre, ranging from rubber projectiles to hardened-core, tungsten-carbide fragment, and armour-piercing variants. This effector spectrum enables controlled hazard areas and scalable effects depending on scenario requirements, while cost-effective effector solutions support employment against both single drones and multiple simultaneous threats.
SCILT is controlled via a vehicle data bus and integrates into existing vehicle architectures. Where such interfaces are not available, the system operates as a self-contained package with its own close-range surveillance and control chain. Remote control units can be installed at multiple positions inside the vehicle.
The development of SCILT has been ongoing for approximately one and a half years. Mehler Protection conducted 48 test campaigns, including external and terminal ballistics, temperature behaviour, trigger reliability testing, and fragment-density measurements to determine the optimal effective range.
The first version of SCILT is planned to be available from summer 2026 as an effector package with sensor kits and control units that can be integrated into different vehicle configurations.
SCILT builds on Mehler Protection’s long-standing platform protection portfolio across land, air, and sea. The company supplies protection solutions for helicopters, land vehicles and naval systems, and is a main supplier of protection systems for almost all naval platforms currently under construction for the German Navy.
Learn more about Mehler Protection’s platform armour solutions.
Read the full article here
