The U.S. Army will spend some $150 million over the next four years to speed-up the development and deployment of its mobile high energy laser (HEL) systems ranging from 50 kilowatts to 100 kW.

The army sees battlefield HELs as the perfect -- and cheapest -- weapon to defeat small caliber mortar rounds, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), land mines, sensors and optics. It can cost just $1.00 or less to take out an enemy UAV using a HEL whereas using a weapon such as a FIM-92 Stinger surface-to-air missile to do this job costs close to $40,000 per round.

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There's also no need to deliver and stockpile rounds for a laser, an advantage that immensely boosts its offensive and defensive capabilities.

The army will begin testing a 50 kW battlefield laser in 2017. It will then proceed to testing a 100 kW HEL until 2021. It's prepared to spend up to $30 million per year from 2017 to 2021 on developing and perfecting its HEL weapons technology.

Particular attention will be paid to advancing the development of a HEL weapons system using a high-power solid state laser (SSL) specifically designed to meet the army's requirements for a HEL weapon. The "entry level weapon" will be a 10 kW SSL technology to destroy mortar rounds and UAV, among others, and to disable enemy optical devices and sensors such as those mounted on Russian tanks.

The apogee of this program, however, will be a 100 kW SSL that can engage and defeat battlefield rockets, artillery and mortar rounds (RAMs), UAVs, cruise missiles, sensors and optics. HELs are expected to complement conventional offensive and defensive weapons.

The army's HEL program consists of a "Laser System Ruggedization" and "High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrations (HEL MD)."

"Ruggedization" includes modifications of the laser system to withstand vibration, temperature and other injurious events expected on the battlefield.

The US Army this year continues "ruggedizing" subsystems for its 50 kW SSL and will complete this process in 2017. 

TagsU.S. Army, High Energy Laser, HEL, solid state laser