HELIOS for US Navy

on January 31, 2018

USS Arleigh Burke gets first go.

U.S. Navy to Install High-Powered Laser on Destroyer

The Department of Defense announced Friday that it has awarded Lockheed Martin a $150 million contract for a “high energy laser with integrated optical dazzler and surveillance,” or HELIOS. The announcement is for two prototypes, and if all options are exercised, the contract value could rise to over $940 million.

One of the two new HELIOS lasers will be installed on USS Arleigh Burke, the lead ship in the class of 60-plus destroyers bearing the same name. The Arleigh Burkes are the Navy’s multimission workhorses, deployed for everything from anti-piracy to carrier strike group protection to land attack. They are designed around the Aegis Combat System and the powerful AN/SPY-1 targeting radar, and some are equipped for ballistic missile defense.

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Source: maritime-executive.com