McKINNEY, Texas – Officials of U.S. defense contractor Raytheon Co. announced they have delivered the first high-energy counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) laser weapon system to the U.S. Air Force earlier this month. Defence Blog reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
29 Oct. 2019 -- In recent years, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has assessed directed-energy weapons like laser weapons as an affordable alternative to traditional firepower to keep enemy drones from tracking and targeting troops on the ground.
The system will be deployed overseas as part of a yearlong Air Force experiment to train operators and test the system’s effectiveness in real-world conditions.
Raytheon’s high-energy counter-UAV laser weapon system uses an advanced variant of the company’s multi-spectral targeting system to detect, identify, and track enemy drones. Once targeted, the system can destroy an enemy UAV in a matter of seconds.
Related: Directed-energy weapons taking big steps forward
John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
