By STACY LIBERATORE
The US Navy has released stunning images showing its incredible new drone-destroying laser weapon in action for the first time.
The HELIOS system was tested aboard the USS Preble, with photos capturing its bright beam shooting an unmanned aerial vehicle out of the sky.
HELIOS, which stands for High Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance, was developed by Lockheed Martin in 2021 and delivered to the Navy a year later.
The system blasts more than 60 kilowatts of directed energy, enough to power up to 60 homes, at the speed of light and can hit targets up to five miles away.
It is designed to counter a range of threats, including drones, small boats, and potentially incoming missiles.
HELIOS was also designed to disrupt the intelligence and reconnaissance sensors on enemy vessels.
The testing comes as threats against America’s warships are growing as foreign nations stock their arsenals with drones and anti-ship missiles.
The US Naval Institute said in a recent report: ‘The drone threat has been around for years, but the Navy has yet to prioritize defending against these easily acquired weapons.’
The US Navy conducted the first tests of its drone-kill laser weapon. HELIOS can fire for as long as it has power, which it collects from the ship‘Expecting sailors who shoot shotguns, rifles, or machine guns twice a year on a range to be able to engage multiple small, fast-moving targets is unreasonable, ‘the report added…
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