RTX’s HELWS anti-drone laser weapon looking for new use cases

RIAT — Twelve months on from the first successful test firing of its vehicle-mounted high energy laser weapon system (HELWS), Raytheon UK says it is looking for new use cases for the counter-uncrewed aerial system (C-UAS) directed energy capability.

Speaking to Breaking Defense at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford last week, Raytheon UK’s Engineering Director, Alex Rose-Parfitt said the company is developing a “palletized” version of the HELWS, and is in discussions with “non-land customers” in the United Kingdom regarding “additional applications for this solution.”

Additional use cases could include some kind of roll-on/roll-off capability on board maritime vessels which would allow naval forces to engage NATO Class 1 UAS threats with a limitless magazine- a particularly relevant capability for naval platforms seeking to protect themselves against swarms of one-way attack drones, similar to those launched by Houthi Rebels into the Red Sea in March 2024.

The HELWS, which comprises a single gimbal design and is already operationally proven with US armed forces, has the ability to track and engage targets and can be integrated into existing air defense radar and command & control networks.

“There are a number of opportunities being discussed,” Rose-Parfitt confirmed.

“Because of the size and weight of it, it’s relatively easy to move and fit to different platforms. And so that’s certainly been discussed a lot. You’ve seen the US version on the back of an F-150 flat bed, pick-up truck, and you can put it onto a whole host of different platforms because it isn’t that heavy at all and it’s pretty self-contained.

“So other people are looking at how they might be able to apply them. I think there’s always been a lot of interest in the system, and we’re very much focused on the UK,” he added.

In July 2024, Raytheon UK and the government’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and Defence Equipment and Support organization successfully tested the HELWS from a British Army Wolfhound armored vehicle — the first live firing of its kind on UK soil as part of the Ministry of Defence’s Land Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) Demonstrator Program, according to a company statement.

In terms of the progress in the UK’s LDEW program, Rose-Parfitt said the team (which also includes Frazer Nash, NP Aerospace, LumOptica, Blighter Surveillance Systems, and Cambridge Pixel), are “awaiting next steps.”

Referring to last year’s demonstration, he said, “We were pleased with the operation of the system and pleased with the [15kw] power of the laser and the range you’re getting with it and understanding what applications you could use that for.

“And then, I think, you’ve got to look at the intensity of drone use nowadays, and you’re seeing publicly the ranges which they’re getting to targets in a whole range of different operations, So actually being able to have a system like this that can very quickly identify, track and target [opens up] a number of key applications,” he concluded before specifically highlighting fibre-optic wire controlled first person view (FPV) attack drones as an example.