USAF Tests Dune Buggy-Mounted Laser Drone-Killer

C4isrnet.com reported that the U.S. Air Force is testing whether lasers mounted on the backs of dune buggies could be the counter-drone weapon the military needs. The High Energy Laser Weapon System, or HELWS, uses directed energy to defeat incoming unmanned aerial systems — a threat that military leaders are increasingly concerned about. Drones can be small and incredibly mobile, making them difficult to hit with traditional weaponry. That’s why the Air Force and others are looking to emerging technologies including lasers and microwave weapons as possible drone-stopping solutions. Photo of HELWS and another model Raytheon laser system courtesy of Raytheon.

Thanks to CDR David Place (USN/Ret), davidplace47[at]gmail[dot]com, and Robin E. Alexander, President ATC, alexander technical[at]gmail[dot]com, for their assistance with this report, background for which appeared in their  # 21 - 7 - 19 MARCH 2021 edition of the UNMANNED SYSTEMS NEWS (USN).

David distributes the USN, a free, comprehensive newsletter in PDF format every week or two, as well as serial news flashes, from which this NREF news update was sourced. To be included in his distribution, simply send David a subscribe request to davidplace47[at]gmail[dot]com.