According to US media reports, Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, recently announced that its Compact laser pointer Weapon System (CLWS) has recently completed a series of key demonstrations in cooperation with the US Air Force and Army. The latest news shows that the CLWS weapon with a power of 5 kilowatts has successfully completed several combat capability demonstrations, verifying that it is ready for actual deployment.
The test operator uses a controller similar to a gamepad to lock and track the target of a small drone, and fires a laser to make it malfunction. The system operator used the CLWS system fixed in a standard container and successfully destroyed about 30 targets in the first operation. The Boeing project manager said: “We have received a lot of feedback on the ease of use, maturity of the system, and its seamless integration into the command and control (C2) network. In the past year, Boeing has conducted five test sites. Demonstrated the CLWS capabilities to military personnel. They successfully destroyed hundreds of drones with a very high success rate.”
It is reported that the CLWS system includes an integrated anti-UAV system component, including a radar system for detection and a high-resolution sensor system for target recognition/selection. During the MFIX exercise, the CLWS system successfully completed the interception operation with the help of the target verification service provided by its “turn to prompt” function. This feature allows the radar sensor to tell the imaging system where the target is and engage with it (launch a laser).
In addition, two other high-energy laser weapons originally developed and delivered by Boeing have also been successfully demonstrated, including the mobile expeditionary high-energy laser installed on the platform by the US Army, and the large-caliber, high-power Army high-energy laser mobile test vehicle.
Boeing’s laser and optoelectronic systems project manager said: “Boeing’s continuous development in a series of high-energy green laser pointer weapons from compact laser weapon systems to high-power tactical-level systems proves the gradual maturity of this technology field. Our system It has been verified that it is ready to provide anti-UAV systems for today’s combat personnel to enhance force protection capabilities.” Boeing has delivered multiple CLWS system prototypes to US Department of Defense customers. As part of a limited user evaluation, these systems have been deployed overseas for nearly 6 months.