The US Navy has unveiled its impressive new laser weapon, the HELIOS system.
An internal military report released in January features the HELIOS system in action aboard a warship, highlighting cutting-edge advancements in military technology.
America is fully enveloped in a race with China to develop the best naval weapons possible, especially since China is eyeing capturing Taiwan, which would lead to the mega powers colliding at sea.
According to the U.S. Center for Countermeasures’s report, the directed-energy weapon was tested on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS.
Developed by Lockheed Martin, HELIOS is a sophisticated directed energy weapon system for the U.S. Navy. It can be used as a potent laser weapon and an optical dazzler to impair intelligence and reconnaissance sensors.
This formidable laser weapon harnesses a 60 kW high-energy laser capable of striking targets at light speed.
It’s engineered to incapacitate or annihilate threats by causing them to melt or overheat, effectively neutralizing dangers such as combat drones, swift-attack boats, and missiles.
Similarly, last year, the United Kingdom successfully tested a high-powered laser mounted on a Wolfhound armored vehicle and demonstrated the DragonFire laser against airborne targets.
The CCM FY2024 Annual Report details: “CCM supported the Navy’s demonstration on USS Preble (DDG 88) to verify and validate the functionality, performance, and capability of the HEL with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance system (HELIOS) against an unmanned aerial vehicle target.”
The report details that “CCM collected imagery of the engagements to support the evaluation of system performance.”
Dr. Raymond D. O’Toole, Jr., the acting director of the Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation, stressed the importance of adequately equipping US forces, stating, “U.S. military Service members deserve to be equipped with combat-credible systems that meet the demands of today’s evolving threats and tomorrow’s unpredictable challenges.”
He further underscored the significance of thorough testing in the current era: “In a rapidly changing global security environment, where adversaries continue to develop sophisticated capabilities across all domains, our commitment to providing timely, rigorous, and independent evaluations has never been more critical.”