UPI:
Aug. 5 (UPI) — Raytheon has been contracted by the U.S. Air Force to produce high energy laser weapon systems that will be field tested for about a year.
The $23.8 million contract, announced Friday by the Department of Defense, covers two HELW systems for experimentation and fielding against unmanned aerial system threats for at least 12 months.
Field assessment of the systems will be conducted outside the continental United States, with work under the deal expected to be finished in November 2020.
The systems consist of 10-kilowatt lasers mounted on ground-based vehicles, and the Air Force said they can be useful against the small drones used by the Islamic State, as well as against a variety of other attack drones — including drone swarm concepts many countries, including the United States, are working on.
