Directed Energy: Navy Destroyer Adds HELIOS Laser to Arsenal.

• Author: Roaten, Meredith

Threats to Navy vessels continue to grow in the form of drone swarms and anti-ship missiles. Now, after decades of experimentation, the Navy is closing in on a low-cost solution that can deter and defend against aerial threats at sea.

The Navy received its first high-energy laser with integrated optical-dazzler and surveillance, or HELIOS, system in the third quarter of fiscal year 2022 from manufacturer Lockheed Martin, according to the company. The system--which can blast more than 60 kilowatts of directed energy at targets up to five miles away--is currently being installed on a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that is undergoing upgrades, a company spokesperson told National Defense in an email.

"HELIOS enhances the overall combat system effectiveness of the ship to deter future threats and provide additional protection for sailors, and we understand we must provide scalable solutions customized to the Navy's priorities," said Rick Cordaro, vice president for Lockheed Martin advanced product solutions in a press release. "HELIOS represents a solid foundation for incremental delivery of robust and powerful laser weapon system capabilities."

HELIOS is part of the Navy Laser Family of Systems, a collection of platforms that the service envisions as "the foundation of an incremental strategy for increased laser weapon capability," according to Navy budget documents.

The service requested about $35 million for the family of systems for its 2023 budget, during which the first system is expected to be operational at-sea.

The weapon system "addresses anti-surface warfare and counterintelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance gaps with the ability to dazzle and destroy unmanned aerial systems and defeat fast inshore attack craft," the documents stated.

The technology represents significant advances over current systems and options for countering UAVs and anti-ship missiles. Surface-to-air missiles and Gatling guns require magazine depth on ships and have poor cost-exchange ratios when deployed against inexpensive drones, the Congressional Research Service said in an August report.

Plus, reloading Navy surface ship magazines requires the vessels to travel potentially hundreds of miles over a period of hours to get to a safe zone, said the report, "Navy Shipboard Lasers: Background and Issues for Congress."

An adversary such as China has access to multiple UAVs and anti-ship missiles, and Beijing has a "high capacity" for producing more...