Red Sea By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News It’s a routine report, issued every year by a Pentagon unit that evaluates the military’s weapons systems. But buried in an almost 500-page report that covered everything from aerosol vapor chemical agent detectors to a special operations command system called the dry combat submersible was a stunning black-and-white photo. It shows a Navy destroyer firing a high-powered laser that is said to be able to destroy missiles, drones and fast-attack vessels. The weapon is called Helios – High Energy Laser and Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance. There’s little known about the test. It was conducted sometime last year on board the USS Preble, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. The only thing the report says about the exercise was that it’s goal was to “verify and validate the functionality, performance and capability…against an unmanned aerial vehicle target.” Helios is being developed by Lockheed Martin. The Pentagon awarded Lockheed the contract in 2018, and the company says that its “low cost per kill, speed of light delivery, and precision response enable it to address Fleet needs now…” Helios uses a 60 kW laser whose purpose is to destroy targets by overheating or melting them. The laser can also be used as a “dazzler” – whose infrared light can disrupt an enemy’s electronic sensors. According to Naval News, Aegis software capable of operating the Helios system has been installed on five Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The Navy plans to continue testing Helios this year on the Preble. The US military has a number of laser weapons being tested. The Army has the DE M-SHORAD (Directed Energy Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense system), which was tested in 2023 at Yuma Proving Ground. It’s also equipping the Stryker combat vehicle with a laser for short-range air defense. The Air Force has a pod-mounted defensive laser weapon. But it ended its highly-touted SHiELD program (Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator) without testing it on a fighter jet. Still, more laser weapons are likely in the works. According to National Defense Magazine, later this year Israel is expected to be the first country to deploy a high-energy laser weapon. Its Iron Beam air defense system will complement the Iron Dome system which has been used to defend against missile and drone attacks from Iran, from Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi rebels in Yemen. Iron Beam is being developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. A little more than two years, Rafael reached an agreement with Lockheed to develop a version for the US.
