Raytheon UK plans to establish a center for the testing, fielding, and maintenance of defensive high-energy laser weapon systems (HELWS). The facility will open next year in Livingston, Scotland, and will become Raytheon’s European hub for HELWS as well as support UK Ministry of Defence aspirations in the growing sector. The company is on course to conduct a six-month demonstration of a HELWS mounted on a British Army Wolfhound tactical support vehicle later this year.
Laser weapons have a significant application as part of an integrated layered defense that includes counter-unmanned air systems (C-UAS), rockets and mortars (C-RAM), and other low, slow, and small (LSS) aerial targets. The laser offers a low cost-to-effect ratio and, when connected to a generator, effectively offers an unlimited “shot” capability.
Raytheon has already developed a 15-kW laser for use against Class 1 and 2 small UASs, fielded as part of the LSS Integrated Defense System (LIDS), while more powerful lasers remain in development for use in C-RAM applications and against UAVs up to Class 3. The company plans to deliver four of its DE-MSHORAD directed-energy vehicle-mounted systems to the U.S. Army this fall, each armed with a 50-kW laser.
To provide the accuracy required by the HEL, the laser pairs with a short-range radar, notably the Ku-band Radio Frequency System (KuRFS) that provides initial detection and tracking. The track gets handed off to an MTS multi-spectral electro-optic sensor that allows identification and provides the accuracy required for aiming the laser.
In addition to its lasers, Raytheon also provides a kinetic C-UAS option with the Coyote 2+, a low-cost rail-launched, rocket-boosted effector with a turbine sustainment motor that can engage maneuvering threats at more than 15 km range. The Coyote can re-attack if it misses the target on the first pass. Coyote launchers can be mounted alongside the HELWS, such as in the LIDS system, which also mounts a 30mm cannon.
Alongside its work with lasers, Raytheon has also demonstrated high-power microwave weapons that can disrupt the electronic systems of small UASs.