The US Navy has released stunning images showing its incredible new drone-destroying laser weapon in action for the first time.
The HELIOS system was tested aboard the USS Preble, with photos capturing its bright beam shooting an unmanned aerial vehicle out of the sky.
HELIOS, which stands for High Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance, was developed by Lockheed Martin in 2021 and delivered to the Navy a year later.
The system blasts more than 60 kilowatts of directed energy, enough to power up to 60 homes, at the speed of light and can hit targets up to five miles away.
It is designed to counter a range of threats, including drones, small boats, and potentially incoming missiles.
HELIOS was also designed to disrupt the intelligence and reconnaissance sensors on enemy vessels.
The testing comes as threats against America’s warships are growing as foreign nations stock their arsenals with drones and anti-ship missiles.
The US Naval Institute said in a recent report: ‘The drone threat has been around for years, but the Navy has yet to prioritize defending against these easily acquired weapons.’
The US Navy conducted the first tests of its drone-kill laser weapon
The images showed the beam targeting a drone above the ship, shooting it down in a ball of flames
‘Expecting sailors who shoot shotguns, rifles, or machine guns twice a year on a range to be able to engage multiple small, fast-moving targets is unreasonable, ‘the report added.
‘Even if a few sailors were expert shooters capable of shooting down drones, it likely would take a few minutes from the first report of a potential drone to identify the drone, raise the alarm, and bring key weapons and associated ammunition to bear against the threat—time the ship might not have.’
But the Navy sees its new HELIOS as a way to fight back, showing off its capabilities on the open ocean.
The US Center for Countermeasures (CCM) released details on the testing, SWNS reported.
The images showed the beam targeting a drone above the ship, shooting it down in a ball of flames.
‘CCM supported the Navy’s demonstration on USS Preble (DDG 88) 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 shared in a report.
The weapon was integrated into the ship’s combat system, enhancing its target detection and tracking capabilities.
The HELIOS system was tested aboard the USS Preble, with photos showing its bright beam shooting an unmanned aerial vehicle out of the sky
HELIOS can fire for as long as it has power, which it collects from the ship.
And because the ship’s power source is constantly replenished, the laser has an unlimited supply of power.
The test comes as a Homeland Security Advisor and billionaire Marc Andreessen suggested AI-powered jets will be the main fighters in future wars.
Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in November, Andreessen said jets that travel five times the speed of sound, Mach 5, are going to be more common ‘within a few years.’
‘Image a thousand of these things coming over the horizon right at you,’ Andreessen said. ‘It really changes the fundamental equation of war.’
He explain that instead of needing the most soldiers and material to win, people with the most technology and money will take over.
Andreessen also noted that there are ‘a bunch of reasons’ why he believes a future of AI-piloted fighter jets is all but inevitable.
‘Part of it is simply the speed of processing,’ Andreessen explained.
‘But the other big thing is, if you don’t have a human in the plane, you don’t have […] ‘the Spam in the Can.”
‘You don’t have the human body in the plane to keep alive, which means you can be a lot faster,’ the billionaire White House advisor continued, ‘much higher G-forces.’
