HII selected to develop high-energy laser weapon system for U.S. Army

The HEL system is designed for both fixed-site defence and integration onto military vehicles, enhancing its operational flexibility. It aims to support force protection by countering drone threats with a scalable and sustainable solution.

“We are proud to provide a critical enabler for the Army, delivering an effective, interoperable, sustainable and scalable system that will meet force protection requirements and support U.S. strategic objectives,” said Grant Hagen, president of Mission Technologies’ Warfare Systems group. “We look forward to collaborating with the RCCTO on this important effort that will protect the warfighter with an affordable counter-UAS solution.”

In addition to developing the HEL prototype, HII will supply essential data to support competitive development of subsystems and components. This approach aligns with the Army’s Modular Open Systems Approach, promoting interoperability, cost-efficiency and rapid innovation.

The data-driven design will allow for easy integration of new software and subsystems, ensuring the weapon remains adaptable to evolving national security needs. It also contributes to enhancing supply chain resilience and accelerating system upgrades.

The agreement was awarded under an Other Transaction authority with the goal of transitioning the project to the Army’s Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space. Field testing of the prototype will assess its safety and operational suitability before potential entry into low-rate initial production.

HII, headquartered in Virginia, is the largest military shipbuilder in the United States and employs 44,000 people. The company provides all-domain defence solutions, including advanced technologies such as unmanned systems, cybersecurity, AI, and synthetic training, in support of global peace and security.