“This first of its kind directed energy program will enable our formations to defeat unmanned systems and dominate from the outset,” Gen. Christopher LaNeve, acting chief of staff of the service, said in the Army announcement.
Gen. Christopher LaNeve on the Enduring-High Energy Laser (E-HEL)
The Army described the E-HEL award as its first-ever production contract for a high‑energy laser weapon and framed the program of record as a capability that will let formations “defeat unmanned systems and dominate from the outset.” The announcement attributes the program’s strategic value to pairing “human ingenuity with advanced technology,” language used by Gen. LaNeve to explain why the service is moving the award into production.
AeroVironment and the LOCUST X3
AeroVironment (AV) will supply the Army with its LOCUST X3 laser counter‑drone system under the contract. John Garrity, AV’s vice president of directed‑energy systems, described LOCUST X3 as the third LOCUST system in the company’s catalog and said it is designed to defeat drone threats up to Group 3 using a 30 kW laser. The source defines Group 3 drones as those that weigh up to 1,320 pounds; AV also expects the system to address Group 1 and Group 2 threats, the smaller drone classes.
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The award is structured as an Other Transaction Authority agreement. AV executives told reporters the contract is worth $464.8 million. Under the agreement, AV will deliver “dozens” of LOCUST X3 systems to the Army “over the next few years,” with “initial capabilities” expected within the year, Garrity said. AV previously scaled production at a rate described as “tens of systems a year” but told reporters it is now capable of scaling “into the 20s per year” and aims to “scale well beyond that” within the next 12 to 24 months.
Testing, deployments, and claimed effects
AV has already placed other LOCUST systems in operational and demonstration settings. The company’s 20 kW LOCUST system was deployed near the Southern Border in El Paso, Texas, and a LOCUST variant was tested before Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, according to the announcement. Garrity said the LOCUST family has an overall “kill count in the thousands” on test ranges. The Army statement cited by AV framed directed energy as able to defeat drones “at a much lower cost than using more expensive kinetic weapons like missiles,” and described the E‑HEL system as powered by electric energy that creates a “lethal” high‑energy laser beam.
What this means for warfighters, AeroVironment, and Army procurement
- Warfighters and allies: The Army and AV emphasize the capability to defeat unmanned systems across multiple weight classes, with initial deliveries expected within the year. Garrity linked the need for the capability to drone threats he described as causing “a tremendous amount of harm for our warfighters and our allies overseas,” stating that the LOCUST X3 was “purpose‑built” to address those effects.
- AeroVironment and industrial production: AV has stated it can scale into the 20s of systems per year and plans to expand further over 12–24 months. The company framed the contract as “introducing production‑directed energy for the first time in the nation’s history,” marking a shift from prototype and demo phases to an explicit production pace tied to a multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar award.
- Army procurement, platforms, and integration: The Army awarded the E‑HEL program as a program of record via an Other Transaction Authority agreement. AV sees early LOCUST X3 mounts on Joint Light Tactical Vehicles and Infantry Squad Vehicles, with plans to integrate onto heavier platforms such as Strykers and, eventually, “tanks, robots, ships, vessels and more,” describing the system as “platform agnostic.”
The Army’s move to a production award for E‑HEL, and AV’s commitment to scale, set clear near‑term benchmarks: initial capability deliveries within the year, “dozens” of systems over the next few years, and a marked ramp in production capacity over 12–24 months. What remains to be observed is where the Army will deploy the LOCUST X3 systems across combatant commands and how quickly the service will field them onto the range of platforms AV describes.
