Foreign media reported that the US Navy plans to install high-energy lasers and integrated optical blind surveillance weapons (HELIOS) systems on the Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA destroyers deployed on the west coast of the United States by 2021.
It is understood that the HELIOS system can emit 60 kilowatts of laser pointer, which is three times higher than that of the solid-state laser weapons equipped on the “Ponce” amphibious transport ship test ship in early 2014. It is mainly used to attack incoming small ships and drones. In 2018, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy signed a contract worth 150 million US dollars to deliver two sets of HELIOS weapon systems, one of which was used for land testing and the other was installed on warships.
With the continuous use of laser weapons, the integration of the existing combat systems of the US Navy has become increasingly prominent. Laser weapon systems must not only play a striking role, but also provide more accurate target locking data than existing ship-based combat systems.
Combining the ability to provide target-locking data with the use of offensive power has become a major challenge for the HELIOS weapon system. In addition, the Navy’s receivers will also learn from the beginning the operating procedures for using existing combat systems to control blue laser pointer weapons. The U.S. Navy plans to develop laser systems capable of resisting even greater threats such as anti-ship cruise missiles.