Laser weapons reached a new milestone as the US Navy tested the AeroVironment (AV) LOCUST Laser Weapon System (LWS) aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H W Bush (CVN-77), notching up a 100% kill rate against multiple aerial drone threats.
The sea tests of the LOCUST laser weapon, which took place on October 5, 2025, mark a significant advance in the shift in naval strategy toward directed energy weapons. Previously, lasers and similar weapons tested were in the high-megawatt range and permanently installed aboard ships.
The LOCUST represents a pivot from this approach. Instead of a fixed installation, it's a Palletized High Energy Laser (P-HEL) that can be mounted on a relatively small land vehicle or placed on a ship's deck by forklift in what looks like an ordinary shipping container.
The Spectrally Beam Combined (SBC) laser with an output of over 35 kW can be made operational in 15 minutes from power-up using the ship's electrical grid or an internal battery. According to AeroVironment, LOCUST is designed to be highly intuitive, and sailors can operate it with less than an hour of specialized training, covering the entire process from detection to tracking to firing.
Though it can take out Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV) in groups 1 to 3, the 3,400-lb (1,542-kg) laser weapon can be quickly removed once it's no longer needed. This was the case aboard the USS Bush, where it was set up on deck for the test and then quickly removed to allow for regular flight operations.
This means that when a carrier is in port or in restricted waters where flight operations aren't possible, the ship can be effectively protected from drone threats and then quickly revert to flight status.
But what stands out in the latest tests is the ability of LOCUST to detect, track, and destroy all of the drones sent against it. This is particularly significant at sea where tracking and destroying such threats is extremely difficult with a laser – or any other weapon, for that matter.
In addition to testing its combat capabilities, the USS Bush trials demonstrated the ability of the electronics to withstand salt fog, humidity, and vibration; how the stabilization systems can compensate for the ship's motion; the effectiveness of the environmental protection to allow for quick deployment; and the ability of LOCUST to be precise in targeting with minimal collateral damage or interference with friendly aircraft.
"LOCUST delivers effective, all-domain protection against emerging drone threats at the speed of light – on any platform, in any domain, for any mission," said John Garrity, Vice President of Directed Energy Systems at AV. "Rolling LOCUST onto a ship and quickly initiating operations facilitates the expanded use of high-energy lasers across the Fleet without the need for costly, time-consuming ship modifications. This is a game-changer for the Navy and for our national security."
Source: Aerovironment
