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from
https://interestingengineering.com/military/us-army-to-get-laser-weapons

US’ next death ray laser could be deadlier on battleground, fry enemy
drones faster
The directed energy weapon system can acquire, track, target, and defeat mortars and large drones.

Updated: Mar 28, 2025 08:23 AM EST
Photo of the Author Prabhat Ranjan Mishra
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra a day ago

0
US’ next death ray laser could be deadlier on battleground, fry
enemy drones faster
HII’s prototype High-Energy Laser (HEL) will undergo field testing to evaluate its safety and operational suitability. (Representational image)

Wikimedia Commons

The U.S. Army is expected to soon get a new type of high-energy weapon
that could potentially fry enemy drones.

HII, a Virginia-based defense firm, has been awarded a contract to
develop an open architecture High-Energy Laser (HEL) weapon system,
which will be capable of fixed-site defense and offer smooth integration
into Army vehicles.

The weapon is likely to change future warfare and make enemy virtually
blind by destroying their reconnaissance and combat drones mid-air.

Shipbuilder HII’s Mission Technologies will develop the system for the
U.S. Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO).

High-Energy Laser weapon prototype
The company revealed that first it will develop and test a HEL prototype
to acquire, track, and destroy Groups 1-3 Unmanned Aircraft Systems
(UAS) used in multi-domain operations.

“We are proud to provide a critical enabler for the Army, delivering an effective, interoperable, sustainable and scalable system that will meet
force protection requirements and support U.S. strategic objectives,”
said Grant Hagen, president of Mission Technologies’ Warfare Systems group.

“We look forward to collaborating with the RCCTO on this important
effort that will protect the warfighter with an affordable counter-UAS solution.”

Directed energy weapons can destroy drones, other aerial threats
The U.S. Navy and Air Force already have directed energy weapons that
can destroy aerial threats. USS Preble, a 9,700-ton Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is equipped with a high-energy laser weapon system, which
could be used to shoot down hostile drones and missiles.

The directed energy weapon system acquires, tracks, targets, and defeats mortars and large drones in complex swarming scenarios.

While U.S. Air Force’s palletized laser weapon is the first 10
kilowatt-class laser built to U.S. military specifications in a
stand-alone configuration. It can be moved and mounted anywhere it’s
needed for counter-drone missions. Known as “H4,” it is the fourth operational laser weapon system that Raytheon Technologies delivered to
the Air Force.

Also back in 2022, a 50 kilowatt-class laser was mounted on a U.S. Army
Stryker vehicle that shown during a live-fire exercise at at Fort Sill
in Oklahoma. The combat-capable weapon system had proven its
effectiveness during tests.

Now, the latest contract with HII aims to develop a prototype laser system.

HEL prototype to undergo field testing
HII revealed that it will provide the data needed to compete subsystems
and key components. Aligned to the system’s Modular Open Systems
Approach architecture, this data directly supports Army’s objectives for interoperability, affordability, scalability, supply chain resilience
and rapid innovation.

The weapon system will allow the Army to interchange subsystems and
software as the weapon evolves to meet national security demands.

The RCCTO awarded this Other Transaction agreement with the ultimate
goal of transitioning to the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space, according to a press release by HII.

As part of this process, HII’s prototype HEL will undergo field testing
to evaluate its safety and operational suitability. Upon successful demonstration, the system is expected to transition into low-rate
initial production.


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