US Army launches laser production with $465M contract award

The U.S. Army awarded a $464.8 million production contract to AeroVironment, Inc., this week for the Enduring-High Energy Laser program (E-HEL), marking the first production contract for a directed energy system in the U.S. military’s history, the company stated in a release Wednesday.

Rather than deploying missiles to shoot down unmanned aircraft, the E-HEL fires a laser beam at its targets and can reload its magazine through the system’s power supply, according to the Army.

“This first-of-its-kind directed energy program will enable our formations to defeat unmanned systems and dominate from the outset,” Vice Chief of Staff of the Army General Christopher LaNeve said in an Army statement. “Pairing human ingenuity with advanced technology is what ensures our Army will continue to outpace America’s adversaries.”

Under the Other Transaction Agreement, AV will deliver dozens of 30 kW LOCUST laser weapons capable of taking down smaller drones that fit within what the Defense Department characterizes as groups one through three . Those include miniature UAVs comparable to the Air Force’s Wasp III to the Army’s RQ-7B Shadow in the larger class.

The E-HEL production announcement also notches a much-needed win for the service’s laser program, following soldiers’ disappointing feedback on the Army’s Directed Energy Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD) performance in the Middle East.

While those prototypes were tailored for the Stryker combat vehicle, AV’s LOCUST X3 laser weapon is platform-agnostic and can fit on the Army’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV).

The E-HEL program builds on the success of the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) prototypes currently in use by U.S. soldiers.

The contract follows LOCUST’s successful testing at White Sands Missile Range , led by Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF-401) and PAE Fires, which demonstrated safe, effective counter-drone operations in U.S. airspace and directly enabled a DOW–FAA safety agreement validating the system for domestic use.

美国陆军本周授予 AeroVironment 公司一份价值 4.648 亿美元的持久高能激光 (E-HEL) 生产合同，该公司周三在一份新闻稿中表示，这标志着美国军方历史上首个定向能系统生产合同。

据陆军方面称，E-HEL 不是部署导弹击落无人机，而是向目标发射激光束，并且可以通过系统的电源重新装填弹匣。

“这项史无前例的定向能武器计划将使我们的部队能够击败无人系统，并从一开始就占据优势，”陆军副参谋长克里斯托弗·拉内夫将军在一份陆军声明中表示。“将人类的智慧与先进技术相结合，才能确保我们的陆军继续超越美国的对手。”

根据其他交易协议，AV公司将交付数十套30千瓦的“蝗虫”（LOCUST）激光武器，这些武器能够击落国防部定义的第一至第三类小型无人机。这些无人机包括与空军“黄蜂III”（Wasp III）类似的微型无人机，以及陆军RQ-7B“影子”（Shadow）等大型无人机。

在士兵们对陆军定向能机动短程防空系统（DE M-SHORAD）在中东的表现感到失望之后，E-HEL 的生产公告也为该军种的激光计划赢得了急需的胜利。

虽然这些原型是为 Stryker 战车量身定制的，但 AV 公司的 LOCUST X3 激光武器与平台无关，可以安装在陆军的联合轻型战术车辆 (JLTV) 上。

E-HEL 计划建立在美军士兵目前正在使用的陆军多用途高能激光器 (AMP-HEL) 原型的成功经验之上。

该合同是在 LOCUST 在白沙导弹靶场成功进行测试之后签订的，该测试由联合跨部门特遣部队 401 (JIATF-401) 和 PAE Fires 领导，证明了其在美国空域安全、有效的反无人机操作，并直接促成了陶氏化学与美国联邦航空管理局之间的安全协议，从而验证了该系统在国内的使用。