“This milestone marks a major step forward in the Army’s pursuit of fieldable directed energy capabilities,” said Mary Clum, Senior Vice President for AV’s Space & Directed Energy Group. “Through the AMP-HEL program, AV is delivering our extensively validated LOCUST laser system–a technically sophisticated solution that has demonstrated reliability and operational readiness for the C-UAS fight.”
The AMP-HEL prototyping effort is part of the Army’s broader modernization initiative to rapidly develop and field DE solutions to defeat a range of threats, including drones and other airborne systems. The integration of laser systems on the lightweight, highly mobile ISV platform reflects a commitment to scalable, adaptable, and expeditionary force protection solutions. Next month, AV is set to deliver the second increment of AMP-HEL–two Joint Light Tactical Vehicles with a 20kW class LOCUST LWS, radar, and command-and-control systems.
“The need for these systems from real world events is clear: the time is now for directed energy to get into the hands of warfighters everywhere and we are confident that LOCUST meets that need,” said John Garrity, Vice President of Directed Energy Systems for AV.’’
