American HELIOS combat laser passes tests

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American HELIOS combat laser passes tests
Demonstration of the operating principle of the HELIOS complex. Lockheed Martin graphics


Over the past few years, the US Navy has been conducting combat and operational tests of the HELIOS advanced combat laser. It was recently reported that this product successfully passed all tests and confirmed the calculated tactical and technical characteristics. In the foreseeable future, the Pentagon may launch serial production of such systems and begin their deployment on carrier ships.



From order to prototype


The US Navy has long been interested in the topic of combat lasers and has managed to conduct several programs in this area. Thus, in the mid-2010s, they launched the Surface Navy Laser Weapon System project. fleet"). Several commercial companies with experience in laser development applied to participate in this program.

In January 2018, the Navy summed up the results of the competitive part of the program and awarded a contract for further work to Lockheed Martin. Its project received its own designation HELIOS, or High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance.

It took less than two years to complete the project and manufacture the HELIOS prototype. In 2019, it was sent for factory testing, and the following year it was handed over to the customer. At this stage, the tests were carried out on land-based testing grounds using a special stand simulating the necessary structures and systems of the carrier ship.


The deployment of a laser weapon station on an Arleigh Burke-class ship. Graphic by Lockheed Martin

The first stages of testing and evaluation of Helios were completed in 2020. The combat laser confirmed the calculated characteristics and demonstrated the fundamental possibility of hitting typical targets. After that, the Navy decided to begin preparations for the next stage of testing.

Laser on the ship


In 2020-21, the combat laser was mounted on a carrier ship. The test ship was the combat destroyer USS Preble (DDG-88) of the Arleigh Burke Flight IIA project. The Navy did not specify the reason for choosing this ship. Probably, this choice was related to the schedule for withdrawing the pennants for mid-life repairs.

The combat laser was placed in the forward part of the superstructure, on its protruding part. On other Arleigh Burke destroyers, various weapons and systems are placed in this place. This arrangement allows the HELIOS laser to cover almost the entire forward hemisphere of the carrier ship, with the exception of small dead zones in front and on the sides. A control panel for the laser was installed on the bridge. To improve its combat qualities, it was integrated into the Aegis general ship combat information and control system.

Since 2021, there have been regular reports of tests of the Helios product on the carrier ship. All the details of these tests have not been disclosed, but it is known that general issues of laser use were worked out and “shooting” was carried out at various types of targets. In addition, alternative laser operating modes were tested.

In January 2025, the Defense Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) Office of the United States Department of Defense submitted a new annual report to Congress on projects under development and activities carried out. This document mentions the HELIOS project and its achievements in 2024 several times. It should be noted that the data from DOT&E is currently the most comprehensive among those available in the public domain.


"Fire" tests of the HELIOS product. Photo by the US Department of Defense

It is reported that during the tests, the new type of combat laser demonstrated a calculated radiation power of up to 60 kW. It is capable of confidently hitting various air and surface targets at distances of at least several kilometers. At reduced power, HELIOS is successfully used as an optical-electronic suppression device or as a rangefinder.

The standard fire control system and combat module with laser also demonstrated high performance. Working independently or using data from the Aegis combat information and control system, the FCS confidently tracked typical targets and aimed its weapon. Tracking was maintained at different speeds and during ship or target maneuvers, as well as in various weather conditions.

However, the open document does not provide the most important and interesting information. The operating modes of the combat laser, the required time of impact on a target of a particular type, as well as the actual ranges of destruction, including in different weather conditions, remain unknown. Moreover, information of this kind is unlikely to be published in the future.

Combat module


The HELIOS project offers a full-fledged combat module suitable for installation on various carrier ships. This product can be mounted in almost any part of the deck or superstructure, provided that the appropriate communications can be supplied. The complex also includes a control station placed on the ship's bridge next to the control posts for other weapons.

The combat module is built on the basis of a U-shaped support and rotary device, due to which horizontal and vertical guidance is carried out. Guidance angles depend on the design of the ship and the placement of the module. For example, in the case of the destroyer "Prable", the rear hemisphere is covered by the superstructure.


Laser on board the ship. Photo Telegram / "Vestnik" Defense»

The support device has two swinging blocks with target equipment. The central block contains the laser itself and the main optical-electronic means. There is also an additional side block, the purpose of which is still unclear. When aiming, both blocks swing synchronously.

The Helios prototype is equipped with a 60 kW solid-state laser. Lockheed Martin says the system is modular and can be upgraded to 120 kW. A 300 kW laser is also being developed.

At maximum power, the experimental laser is capable of burning through plastic and metal structures and destroying the target. The range of confident destruction of an air or surface target depends on several factors, such as its design features, weather conditions, etc. More powerful modifications of the HELIOS product are expected to demonstrate a higher range and/or speed of target destruction.

The control system of the complex has all the necessary means for receiving data, monitoring the surrounding space and controlling fire. An important feature of the Helios is the ability to integrate with existing or future combat information and control systems of ships.


View from another angle. Photo by US Department of Defense

The integration of the FCS and BIOS provides obvious advantages. It allows for the simplification of the laser complex control system without losing combat capabilities. In addition, the combat laser gains access to data from more effective detection tools. Thanks to this, the HELIOS operator can fully monitor the surrounding environment and learn about threats long before they enter the kill zone.

Unclear future


To date, the US military industry has developed several laser weapons for the Navy. A number of such products, including HELIOS, have undergone testing and trial operation in recent years. As a result, the new weapon has received good reviews and assessments. It has been reported that such systems may soon be adopted for service and that they will begin to be deployed on combat pennants.

It is still unknown how soon the actual production of combat lasers and their mass installation on US Navy warships will begin. In addition, the prospects of each of the developed and tested models are questionable. Perhaps the new HELIOS complex will be chosen for full-scale operation, but it has alternatives that also have every chance of success.
17 comments
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  1. +3
    5 February 2025 07: 37
    60 kW to hit small and medium-sized UAVs at a distance of 2-3 km. This is quite enough, but this is only the forward hemisphere and only as a replacement for the Vulcan-Phalanx. Ideally, a ship needs two such modules, and with more power, so that it can shoot down anti-ship missiles. This will hardly be effective against hypersonic targets even with a several-fold increase in power - a factor of the effective range of destruction, the speed of approach and the extreme heat resistance of the hull and especially the nose of such anti-ship missiles.
    But against UAVs of all classes it is quite an effective means.
    It's a pity that we haven't heard anything about such installations. Don't suggest "Peresvet", it's something completely different and it's unclear whether it's capable of anything in terms of shooting down, not blinding... even in orbit. But the USSR was ahead of the rest of the world in powerful lasers and was ahead of the USA in this by at least 10-15 years.
    1. +1
      5 February 2025 10: 40
      Quote: bayard
      "Peresvet" is not recommended, it is something completely different
      Why different? The power is the same, the physical principles are the same. But for some reason nothing is heard about it
      1. +7
        5 February 2025 10: 51
        Quote: Dutchman Michel
        But for some reason nothing is heard about him

        That's the point, nothing can be heard, with the rampage of enemy UAVs over the entire European part of the Russian Federation. Since we still haven't tried to use "Peresvet" or any other laser capable of this as a means against them, it's better not to even remember.
        We couldn't even raise a radar on balloons to monitor WWI in 3 years. But we need to.
    2. +1
      Yesterday, 00: 52
      Against hypersonic targets, this will hardly be effective even with a several-fold increase in power - the factor of the effective range of destruction, the speed of approach and the extreme heat resistance of the hull and especially the nose of such anti-ship missiles
      Hypersound can push a small layer of plasma in front of it, which, due to its properties, can partially act as a beam reflector.

      It's a pity that we haven't heard anything about such installations. "Peresvet" is not recommended, it's something completely different and it's unclear whether it's capable of anything in terms of shooting down
      The idea with the laser looks beautiful. It does. That's all. We need to look for something new and not bother with fantasy. All these lasers, plasmas, light swords, railguns, Gauss guns and other weapons that came out of the pages of science fiction, as practice shows, are significantly inferior to kinetic striking elements on a chemical engine.
  2. +1
    5 February 2025 08: 17
    An engineer's thought: an idea for counteraction immediately arises - more than two missiles are launched, the first is a "smoker" missile equipped with an aerosol that blocks radar, IR, optical channels and prevents the spread of laser radiation, and then the second/third/fourth with a normal warhead. And at a shorter distance, try to aim in time...
    1. +2
      5 February 2025 08: 49
      Quote: Dmitriy22
      the first one is a smoker rocket

      Then the first missile will blind its own follower. It will cover the target with its interference.
      1. 0
        5 February 2025 09: 53
        The "smoker" will be defeated at the operating distance of the laser complex or machine gun-cannon installation, that is, 2-3 km (as follows from the text), thus the missiles with warheads simply need to fly in a straight line, maintaining the required altitude and having a lead on the ship's course.
        1. +1
          5 February 2025 11: 34
          The jamming by the ship occurs at a distance of 100 m plus or minus. The jamming, which is placed at a distance of 2-3 km. is the dream of any captain. The ship will only need to move to the side by a few meters (we take into account that the missile is already flying like an unguided dummy) and the target is not hit.
          1. -1
            5 February 2025 12: 32
            For a subsonic missile - fair, for a supersonic one - a grandma in two, very unpleasant options are possible for the captain... You have to think..
          2. PPD
            -1
            5 February 2025 19: 56
            How much is 2 kilometers for a subsonic missile?
            200-250 meters per second.
            And some even know how to speed up before the meeting.
            Good luck with the dodge.
            Moreover, ships are not constantly moving at full speed.
            200 meters is only 720 km/h, by the way
            1. -1
              5 February 2025 21: 36
              250 m/s is 4 sec per 1 km, 8 per 2 km, now calculate how many meters the ship will travel even in 4 seconds, considering that during the attack it will not be fully turned to the missile. Once again, it is enough to move back a few meters and the missile will fly into the milk, it is an unguided dummy. Putting an obstacle to ourselves, and even at a distance where the target can evade - this is something new in the tactics of use. It is much easier to make a mirrored missile hull, increase the speed of rotation around its axis and, sacrificing range, slightly increase the thickness of the hull. Well, no one has canceled new fireproof materials. I doubt that at long ranges we have the ability to detect surface targets.
              1. PPD
                0
                6 February 2025 18: 49
                Even without counting, we can say with certainty that he won’t go anywhere.
                And this is if we count subsonic ones.
                We have plenty of others too.
                Those that fly faster than the speed of sound.
                Well, and the little things. It seems like where can you get so much energy on a ship?
                Capacitors store-charge No.
                The rocket still needs to be hit with this laser.
                So it's all from the UAV most likely.
  3. -2
    5 February 2025 09: 49
    I smoked Physics at school.))) If a laser hits a radar antenna, it will "light it up", right? what
  4. -2
    5 February 2025 12: 39
    Is this how a laser works? Do they take us for complete idiots?
    1. 0
      5 February 2025 17: 05
      For those who have only seen lasers in movies, this will do.
      When we were setting up the interferometer, to see how the beam was going, we had to create smoke. We asked someone to light a cigarette.
  5. 0
    6 February 2025 15: 10
    We take mirrors and a smoke bomb, no matter the power of this laser) And by choosing the right angle of the mirror, we destroy the expensive installation, without any costs))
  6. 0
    Yesterday, 22: 32
    I wonder how effective this laser is in rainy and cloudy weather?