Raytheon took the U.S. Air Force $15.5 million contract to upgrade the HELWS system, which can be installed on different platforms in the future. Photo of HELWS released by the Air Force.
Raytheon HELWS shot down a drone.
In response to the threat of Chinese and Iranian drone swarming tactics, the U.S. Air Force is actively enhancing the development and deployment of laser and acoustic weapons. C4ISRNET reported on July 7 that the U.S. Air Force has signed a $15.5 million (about NT$444 million) contract with Raytheon Technologies, which is responsible for developing and deploying the High Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS) for installation on desert off-road vehicles. “Raytheon Technologies is responsible for upgrading the High Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS) installed on desert off-road vehicles.
Raytheon issued a statement in late March saying, “After thousands of hours of operation, HELWS has proven its strength; now we have a new opportunity to build another, more powerful laser system for the Air Force, thus taking a critical step in the Air Force base air defense program.
While Raytheon produced a prototype high-energy laser anti-drone system that was mounted on a desert off-road vehicle, according to the upgrade contract language, the upgraded system will not be delivered mounted on the vehicle, opening up the possibility of use on a different carrier platform, the report said.
The latest contract has now been issued by the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center. This unit is also responsible for HELWS testing, which in turn defines the requirements for future counter-drone production programs and provides recommendations to the acquisition community. The contract specifies that Raytheon will assist the Air Force with field testing and training of operations officers and soldiers.
In August 2019, Raytheon took a $23.8 million contract (approximately NT$682 million) from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to produce two high-energy laser anti-drone prototype systems for it. In October of the same year, Raytheon delivered the first set of high-energy laser anti-drone systems; the U.S. Air Force then stepped up again, signing a $13.1 million contract with Raytheon to purchase a third prototype system.
According to the report, the high-energy laser anti-drone system uses guided beams to destroy small unmanned aerial systems. As long as the guided beam is projected on the incoming threat for 5 seconds, it can shoot down drones within 3 kilometers; and it is simple to operate, soldiers can operate it through telemetry or penlight as if they were playing electric. In the Air Force program, HELWS is primarily used to assist bases in defending against small UAV threats. Raytheon has delivered three prototype systems so far; the first prototype was deployed for overseas testing in early 2020 (Raytheon’s website says it will be deployed in 2019), and the second prototype will be deployed later that same year.
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