The New Rules of Engagement: STAKE, C-UAS Agility, and the Future Fight

The unmanned threat landscape is advancing at breakneck speed. For James Filley, Program Manager for Invariant’s STAKE system, this shift is about rethinking how we design, deploy, and adapt kinetic solutions to meet a battlefield that changes by the day. 

With a career spanning in explosives, missile defense, and tactical ground systems, James made the deliberate choice to go deep, not wide. “I wanted to zero in on a single domain and become the expert,” he says. That domain? Counter-Unmanned Systems (C-UxS). 

Why STAKE Matters Now 

STAKE was born from the proven success of the Containerized Weapon System-APKWS (CWS-A,) but James sees its mobile platform as a major leap forward. “Every system has a use case,” he explains. “The container is great for fixed sites, but with STAKE, users get expeditionary capability. It goes where the fight is.” 

STAKE System

Whether mounted on a Humvee or ship deck, STAKE offers battlefield-ready C-UxS capability at a fraction of the cost and without locking users into rigid architecture. “You can bring your own C2, radar, or vehicle. We’ll integrate with it.” 

That flexibility was on full display during a recent shipboard demonstration, which James describes simply as proof of how modular and adaptable STAKE really is. 

The Threat Has Changed, So Must We 

According to James, today’s unmanned systems barely resemble what we saw eight years ago. “The change is like comparing the original telephone to a smartphone,” he says. “We’re no longer just dealing with off-the-shelf drones. Threat actors are now building custom, low-cost, high-lethality platforms at speed.” 

Those platforms aren’t just harder to counter—they’re cheaper and faster to produce. That’s why James sees cost parity as mission-critical. “How do we continuously defeat $100,000 drones without launching $1 million missiles?” 

It’s a real question with real consequences. “The defense side has always leaned toward exquisite systems,” he adds. “But the offense only needs to be good enough. That dynamic breaks our supply chains if we’re not smart.” 

Agility Over Legacy 

For James, the most dangerous assumption in modern defense planning is that yesterday’s acquisition timelines still apply. “We used to develop a system over five years and support it for 20. But when the fight changes daily, our tech has to change daily too.” 

This is where STAKE shines. Its modular design, rapid fielding, and compatibility with cost-effective munitions like APKWS give it a major edge, not just in performance, but in sustainability.  

“We’re not just building a product,” James says. “We’re building a process that evolves with the fight.” 

C-UxS as a Forever Fight 

Unmanned systems are the new norm. From land to sea, in peer and non-peer engagements alike, James sees the domain expanding rapidly. “The future fight is unmanned, and that means C-UxS isn’t going anywhere,” he says. “At Invariant, we’re focused on what warfighters actually need. Not five years from now. Now.” 

What’s Next for STAKE 

With interest growing across multiple services, James and his team continue to adapt STAKE to meet emerging demands. New capability insertions. Faster integration. Expanded CONOPS. STAKE represents our commitment to delivering battlefield-ready systems that are agile, adaptable, and built for the modern warfighter.