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2020-04-01

HELIOS Laser Weapon Moves a Step Closer to Integration

Recently, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy moved one step closer to integrating a laser weapon system onto an Arleigh Burke destroyer. They were able to successfully conduct a Critical Design Review (CDR) for the High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS) system.

The technology today is ready to defend against small rockets, artillery shells and mortars, small unmanned aerial vehicles, small attack boats and lightweight ground vehicles that are approximately a mile way. As fibre laser power levels increase, Lockheed Martin’s laser systems will be able to disable larger threats and do so across greater distances. When operated in conjunction with kinetic energy systems, these systems can serve as a force multiplier.

“Our adversaries are rapidly developing sophisticated weapons and the threats to the U.S. Navy’s fleet are getting more challenging,” said Hamid Salim, vice president, Advanced Product Solutions at Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems. “Our warfighters need this capability and capacity now to effectively counter threats such as unmanned aerial systems and fast attack vessels.”

This year, HELIOS will undergo system integration in Moorestown, New Jersey, U.S., the home of Aegis Combat System development. The HELIOS system will then be tested at the Wallops Island Navy land-based test site, which will significantly reduce programme risk before being delivered to a shipyard for integration into an Arleigh Burke destroyer next year. In addition to being built into the ship’s structure, HELIOS will become an integrated component of the ship’s Aegis combat system.

The energy travels via mirrors, lenses and windows and can be adjusted for any atmospheric distortions on the way to its target. Normal ballistic challenges such as wind and gravity aren’t a factor, and the beam can disable a truck engine, burn through a rubber boat or bring down a drone.

“You can’t actually see the laser light, it’s invisible. The enemy wouldn’t know where the laser is coming from, they wouldn’t be able to target back. Of course, lasers travel at the speed of light,” said Sarah Reeves, vice president, Missile Defense Programmes at Lockheed Martin. “We can put our laser weapon system into any existing architecture. Our systems are being designed to plug and play into any military system.”

HELIOS combines three key capabilities, brought together for the first time in one weapon system:

High-Energy Laser System: The high-energy fibre laser will be designed to counter unmanned aerial systems and small boats. The energy and thermal management system will leverage Lockheed Martin’s experience on the U.S. Department of Defense programmes, and the cooling system will be designed for maximum adaptability onboard ships. In addition, the company will bring decades of shipboard integration experience, reducing risk and increasing reliability.

Long-Range ISR Capability: HELIOS sensors will be part of an integrated weapon system, designed to provide decision-makers with maximum access to information. HELIOS data will be available on the Lockheed Martin-led Aegis Combat System.

Counter-UAS Dazzler Capability: The HELIOS dazzler will be designed to obscure adversarial UAS-based ISR capabilities. It leverages technology building blocks from internal research and development projects that continue to advance the Navy’s goal to field laser weapon systems aboard surface ships.

In this first increment of the U.S. Navy’s Surface Navy Laser Weapon System programme, Lockheed Martin will deliver two units for test by fiscal year 2020. One unit will be delivered for shipboard integration on an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, and one unit will be used for land testing at White Sands Missile Range.

Efficiency and Lethality

Lockheed Martin has more than 40 years of experience developing laser weapon systems. The company’s ATHENA system, which is a prototype transportable, ground-based system designed to defeat close-in, low-value threats, is helping transform other defence platforms. In addition to the U.S. Navy’s HELIOS programme, Lockheed Martin delivers key subsystems for the U.S. Air Force’s SHiELD programme, an aircraft-mounted high-power laser.

ATHENA is a transportable, ground-based system that serves as a low-cost test bed for demonstrating technologies required for military use of laser weapon systems. Lockheed Martin funded ATHENA’s development with research and development investments. It uses the company’s 30-kilowatt Accelerated Laser Demonstration Initiative (ALADIN) that provides efficiency and lethality in a design that scales to higher power levels.

ATHENA is powered by a compact Rolls-Royce turbo generator. The ATHENA high-energy laser system is transportable and, therefore, enables the Air Force to emplace it anywhere they need to defend bases and high-value assets.

ALADIN produces the highest power ever documented by a laser of this type, retaining beam quality and electrical efficiency. Through a technique called spectral beam combining, multiple fibre laser modules form a single, powerful, high-quality beam that provides greater efficiency and lethality than multiple individual 10-kilowatt lasers.

Lockheed Martin’s Directed energy and laser weapon systems are a proven solution that effectively addresses tech-driven threats with more accurate, flexible and affordable performance than offered by traditional ballistics.

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