Counter-Drone Laser System Achieves New Milestone

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High energy laser systems are becoming a more prevalent tool in the counter-drone arsenal. The US Air Force has awarded Raytheon Technologies a $15.5 million contract to deliver an upgraded version of its dune buggy-mounted laser weapon system, which the company says will inform requirements for a future program of record.

HELWS uses directed energy to destroy small unmanned aerial systems. The weapon is capable of defeating a drone within three kilometers by keeping its beam focused on the threat for five consecutive seconds. Operators control the weapon with a game-style controller and a laptop. The Air Force hopes directed-energy weapons like HELWS can help defend its bases from small drone threats.

The laser systems use photons, or particles of light, to carry out military missions and civil defense. This directed energy technology enables detection of threats, tracking during maneuvers, and positive visual identification to defeat a wide range of threats, including Unmanned Aerial Systems, rockets, artillery and mortars.

The company has been rapidly prototyping its HELWS for the US military since 2019, when the Air Force Research Laboratory awarded the company a $23.8 million contract for two prototypes. Later that year the company secured another $13.1 million for a third prototype.

Three prototypes have been delivered to the Air Force, with the first deployed overseas for testing in early 2020 and the second deployed later that year.

While HELWS prototypes are attached to off-road vehicles, under the current contract the system will be delivered unmounted on pallets for potential use with different platforms, according to c4isrnet.com.