The US Army will purchase at least $400 million worth of anti-drone lasers from AeroVironment Inc., a person familiar with the matter said, as the US military seeks ways to destroy unmanned systems proliferating on modern battlefields, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
The contract with AeroVironment will provide the US Army with dozens of the company’s Locust systems, the source said. The deal would be the Pentagon’s first production contract for a directed-energy counter-drone system to move beyond the prototype stage.
AeroVironment’s spokesperson declined to comment. Shares continued to rise following the news, gaining 8.1%, their largest intraday move since July 2.
The AI-based Locust system tracks and identifies small and medium-sized drones and helps human operators destroy them using a high-energy laser.
The nearly half-billion-dollar contract is another sign that the Pentagon is seeking more affordable and sustainable ways to shoot down potentially dozens of small and medium-sized drones, especially as the wars in Ukraine and with Iran put pressure on US stocks of expensive, difficult-to-replace interceptors, the publication notes.
In addition to counter-drone systems, the Pentagon is also seeking to deploy more offensive drones, and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth instructed the department last year to pursue "drone dominance" by accelerating and expanding the production of American military drones.
Addendum
Earlier this year, the Locust system became the focus of a minor controversy when the weapon was tested near the Mexican border, ultimately prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to close the airspace in El Paso. During testing, the device inadvertently targeted and shot down a drone flown by US Customs and Border Protection personnel on the Texas border with Mexico, according to people familiar with the matter at the time.