Raytheon recently received a $10 million contract from the U.S. Army to develop their High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle Demonstration program. The program is part of the Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 initiative from the Army that’s designed to counter incoming aerial threats such as drones, cruise missiles, artillery rounds and rockets.
The system will mount a 100-kilowatt laser, which is 10 times more powerful than lasers the Army had previously tested, to vehicles and mobile equipment. Increasing the laser’s power by this much will be essential in using it to engage a larger collection of enemy targets at longer ranges. The Army hopes to initially mount the laser on armored medium tactical vehicles with up to 10 tons of payload capacity.
Raytheon is proposing a self-contained system wherein multi-spectral targeting sensors, fiber-combined lasers, power and thermal subsystems are incorporated in a single package. A contract covering the full development and demonstration of a system could be available early next year and be worth as much as $130 million. Lasers are seen as the best and most cost-effective option for targeting advanced missiles and other aerial threats.
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