Raytheon developing laser weapon system
Raytheon is developing a 100kW class laser weapon system preliminary design for integration onboard the US Army’s Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV), the company announced on 2 July.
The $10 million contract has been awarded under the US Army's High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle Demonstration (HEL TVD) programme. HEL TVD, a science and technology demonstration programme, is part of the army's Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 initiative.
Following completion of HEL TVD programme option two, one supplier will be awarded a system development and demonstration contract by the army to build and integrate a weapon system on the FMTVs. A $130 million system, development and demonstration contract decision is expected early in 2019.
Roy Azevedo, VP of intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance systems at Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems business unit, said: ‘The beauty of this system is that it's self-contained. Multi-spectral targeting sensors, fibre-combined lasers, power and thermal sub-systems are incorporated in a single package. This system is being designed to knock out rockets, artillery or mortar fire or small drones.’
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
![Anduril Industries unveils improved electromagnetic warfare system]()
Anduril Industries unveils improved electromagnetic warfare system
Pulsar-L has already entered service and weighs about 12kg with range of 5km. It was only in May last year that the company disclosed that earlier versions were already in service.
-
![Polaris to unveil new MRZR Alpha base vehicle at Modern Day Marine]()
Polaris to unveil new MRZR Alpha base vehicle at Modern Day Marine
The new platform was designed to provide 1KW of exportable power as standard and has been developed in partnership with the US Marine Corps (USMC).
-
![British Army details Ajax plans]()
British Army details Ajax plans
Of the six variants in the Ajax programme – reconnaissance (Ajax), reconnaissance support (Ares), C2 (Athena), equipment repair (Apollo), equipment recovery (Atlas) and engineering reconnaissance (Argus) – the Ajax reconnaissance version is now entering service.
-
![CV90 revels in northern exposure while looking for new customers (updated April 2025)]()
CV90 revels in northern exposure while looking for new customers (updated April 2025)
The BAE Systems Hägglunds’ CV90 IFV has been around for decades but continual refreshing to maintain power and relevance, along with a healthy market at home in Sweden and neighbouring countries, has led to more than 1,700 vehicle orders with 10 countries.
-
![Oshkosh notches JLTV win with Dutch order]()
Oshkosh notches JLTV win with Dutch order
The order further extends the Oshkosh Defense production line as AM General, selected for US orders, pushes to get vehicles out the door with no room for export orders.
