AeroVironment’s LOCUST X3 laser system. Under a new $464.8 million contract, the AeroVironment will provide the US Army with dozens of the laser systems to test them against different types of drones. (AeroVironment)

The US Army Is Getting ‘First of Its Kind’ Lasers

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Army officials said the lasers will allow soldiers to “defeat unmanned systems and dominate from the outset.”

The US Army will pay AeroVironment $464.8 million for a new laser weapon system designed to shoot down aerial drones.

AeroVironment will support the service’s Enduring-High Energy Laser (E-HEL) program. The E-HEL and other directed-energy weapons (DEWs) could be employed to disable drones at a far lower cost than kinetic weapons such as expensive interceptor weapons, Army officials said in a news release.

“This first-of-its-kind directed energy program will enable our formations to defeat unmanned systems and dominate from the outset. Pairing human ingenuity with advanced technology is what ensures our Army will continue to outpace America’s adversaries,” said Vice Chief of Staff of the Army General Christopher LaNeve.

The contract award marks a “defining moment” for modern defense, Wahid Nawabi, chairman, president, and CEO of AeroVironment (AV), said in a news release.

“The transition........

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