Pentagon Publishes Image Of Directed Energy Weapon Test

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has released into the public domain an image of a night-time test of a U.S. Navy destroyer firing a HELIOS directed energy weapon to counter aerial drones.

The picture shows the weapon being fired from just behind the bow of Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Preble, the 38th destroyer of her class. She is believed to be the only ship in service fitted with the system at present. 

The image was published in the 2024 annual report of the Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E). The DOT&E report said the HELIOS (derived from High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance) system was operationally tested on an unspecified date during the 2024 fiscal year.

The HELIOS system has been developed by Lockheed Martin. As per its website, HELIOS can fire beams of energy at 60 kW and above. Besides drone and missile defense, it also can perform long-range surveillance and sensor dazzling.

The firm said the initial capability was integrated into the Aegis Combat System used by the U.S. Navy’s destroyers, but the system “is also adaptable to other ship types and combat systems, such as aircraft carriers and big-deck amphibs with the Ship Self-Defense System (SSDS).” 

The DOT&E report stated the purpose of the test was “to verify and validate the functionality, performance, and capability of the HEL with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance system against an unmanned aerial vehicle target.”

It said the Center for Countermeasures (CCM), a group established by the DoD in the early 1970s to develop and field critical CMs at operationally relevant speeds and now overseen by DOT&E, collected imagery of the engagements to support the evaluation of system performance.

The report noted the image depicted one of a series of tests “evaluating the weapon’s effectiveness against a series of dynamic targets” and comparing the results to predictions.

• You can click here to download the DOT&E report and read more about HELIOS on the Lockheed Martin website