Lockheed Martin’s HELIOS (High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-Dazzler and Surveillance) weapon has been successfully deployed aboard a US Navy warship. Designed to counter unmanned aerial threats, the high-energy laser weapon operates at a cost of only a few dollars per shot—an extraordinary savings for the Navy, which has a habit of spending tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars per missile interception. Defense Blog reports that an update on HELIOS was published in a January 2025 report by the US Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation. The report includes an image of the USS Preble deploying its HELIOS weapon system at sea—one of the clearest images of the laser weapon in action to date. “The US Center for Countermeasures (CCM) supported the Navy’s demonstration on USS Preble (DDG 88) to verify and validate the functionality, performance, and capability of the HEL with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance system against an unmanned aerial vehicle target. CCM collected imagery of the engagements to support the evaluation of system performance,” the annual report said.  HELIOS is currently rated at 60 kilowatts and can scale up to 120 kilowatts, significantly enhancing Preble’s lethality against kamikaze drones. The laser weapon provides an operational advantage: unlimited firing capacity as long as power is available. This reduces the […]