LACDA: A Low-Cost Layered Autonomous Intercept Architecture Against Shahed-Class Loitering Munitions

This paper proposes a layered, low-cost counter-drone architecture designed to defeat Shahed-136 class loitering munitions at a fraction of current intercept costs. The system combines three components: a deployable acoustic detection tower using directional microphone arrays for early warning and target cueing; an autonomous vision-based intercept drone (AVID) that operates fully independently of GPS and uplink after initial launch cue; and a close-range shotgun-pattern terminal weapon as backup. The central architectural innovation is an offline-first autonomy model — the intercept drone degrades gracefully under electronic warfare by falling back entirely to onboard compute and camera-based pursuit, removing GPS spoofing and RF jamming as viable countermeasures. Estimated intercept cost is 300–800 per unit against a 20, 000–50, 000 target, representing a strategically significant asymmetric cost advantage. The concept is submitted as an independent technical contribution for timestamped prior art documentation.