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5 August 2024

Army Fast-Tracks AI-Enabled Laser Counter-Drone Weapons

Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

The Army is refining an AI-enabled laser system able to identify, discriminate and incinerate enemy drone targets in milliseconds using high speed computer processing, advanced algorithms and a new generation of laser weapons.

The services’ Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) is fast-tracking the LOCUST Laser Weapon System, a counter unmanned aerial system weapon engineered to instantly identify then eliminate drone threats at the speed of AI. The LOCUST system, made by BlueHalo, integrates with the Army’s truck-mounted High Energy Laser using an advanced gimbaled electro-optical tracking system, ISR unit, laser rangefinder and target tracking system to “neutralize” threats, according to BlueHalo. It leverages a multiple-camera payload system to provide a wide field of view to expand a defensive targeting envelope. The LOCUST LWS includes a radar and surveillance module on an extendable mast secured to a “463L compliant pallet” for easy mobility including a tailorable payload to include electronic attack technology and a 360-degree radar.

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