据C4ISRNET网4月7日报道

美空军授予雷神公司强激光武器（HELWS）改进合同，要求在野战车载型反无人机系统样机基础上进行改进，以确定未来反无人机系统生产计划的需求，并向采办部门提出订货建议，合同金额1550万美元，合同要求只交付上装激光武器系统，不包括底盘，为多种平台提供通用潜力。2019年以来，空军已经授予雷神公司研制3套反无人机强激光武器样机，前两套样机2380万美元，第3套样机1310万美元，其中第1套在2020年初已经部署海外进行试验，第2套在当年晚些时候也已部署。雷神公司主管称，海外数千小时的作战试验，已验证了样机的品质和耐力，新改进的强激光系统将更强大。雷神公司一直致力于强激光武器样机的研究开发，主要用于基地防空系统的反无人机，拦截距离3公里，激光持续照射5秒即可摧毁目标，由1台游戏机型控制器和笔记本电脑实施操控。

Raytheon awarded $15.5 million to upgrade laser weapon

Nathan Strout  C4ISRNET APRIL 7

Mounted on the back of a dune buggy, the Raytheon-built High Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS) uses directed energy to defeat incoming unmanned aerial systems. (Raytheon)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force awarded Raytheon Technologies a $15.5 million contract to deliver an upgraded version of its dune buggy-mounted laser weapon system, which the company says will inform requirements for a future program of record.

Raytheon has been rapidly prototyping its high-energy laser weapon system, or HELWS, for the military since 2019, when the Air Force Research Laboratory awarded the company a $23.8 million contract for two prototypes. Later that year the company secured another $13.1 million for a third prototype.

HELWS uses directed energy to destroy small unmanned aerial systems. The weapon is capable of defeating a drone within three kilometers by keeping its beam focused on the threat for five consecutive seconds. Operators control the weapon with a game-style controller and a laptop. The Air Force hopes directed-energy weapons like HELWS can help defend its bases from small drone threats.

Raytheon has delivered three prototypes to the Air Force, with the first deployed overseas for testing in early 2020 and the second deployed later that year.

“With thousands of operation hours under its belt, our HELWS system has proven its mettle,” Annabel Flores, vice president of electronic warfare systems at Raytheon Intelligence & Space, said in a March 31 statement. “Now we have the opportunity to build another, more robust laser system for the Air Force’s premier organization and take a key step toward defining an air base air defense program of record.”

While HELWS prototypes are attached to off-road vehicles, under the $15.5 million contract the system will be delivered unmounted on pallets for potential use with different platforms.

This latest contract was issued by the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, which will test HELWS to define requirements for future counter-drone production programs and make a recommendation to a procurement authority. Raytheon will support Air Force field assessments and help train operators.

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