The U.S. Navy has acquired six new laser weapons to integrate into surface combatant ships, the U.S. Navy’s board of defense reported on Wednesday.
Specifically, speaking at the US Navy’s annual meeting in Virginia about America’s future DDG(X) surface ships, Rear Admiral Seiko Okano (who is in charge of weapons systems integration), revealed that the service had just received six HELIOS weapon systems from manufacturer Lockheed Martin. HELIOS is an acronym for High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance.
What Is HELIOS and How Will It Help Americans?
HELIOS was developed through a 2018 contract between the US Navy and Lockheed. It consists of a 60 kilowatt laser and an optical “dazzle” package that effectively blinds enemy sensors. The weapon system is designed to shoot down unmanned aerial vehicles, “burn ships” and disrupt the operations of both aerial and naval reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors. These data became known through the US Congressional Research Service.
As swarms of drones, naval vessels and anti-ship missiles become ever greater threats to surface warships, laser weapons systems like HELIOS have proven to be ideal low-cost solutions, offering almost unlimited ammunition to deter such potential attacks.
