Australian defense company Electro Optic Systems (EOS) has unveiled its Apollo High Energy Laser Weapon (HELW) that pumps out up to 150 kW of power yet can take out 200 medium-sized drones running on its own internal power supply.
Lasers are often seen these days as a logical defense against the increasing threat posed by weaponized drones. The advantages of drones is that they are inexpensive, small, hard to detect, and can be sent in large numbers to overwhelm air defenses. Meanwhile, lasers travel at the speed of light, can engage with multiple targets, and are famous for their dollar-a-shot ammunition costs.
Anti-drone and anti-missile lasers have been under development for decades and in recent years the systems have been moving toward full operational status. The tricky bit is to not only build a laser that can reliably track and lock onto a target. It also needs enough power to destroy and neutralize that target and be able to operate under field conditions, which tend to be the very definition of harsh and unforgiving.
The Apollo laser weapon is one of the latest systems to be developed with an eye toward the battlefield. It's already been sold to an undisclosed NATO country and is designed to handle a wide variety of drones from Group 1 to Group 3. That is, drones weighing from 20 lb (9.07 kg) to 1,320 lb (599 kg). It's a 100-kW class laser, though it can reach as high as 150 kW in practice.
It can fit inside a standard 20-ft (6-m) shipping container with two emitter units protruding from the top and the company claims that it can destroy drones at a range of up to 1.86 miles (3 km) or disable their optical sensors from as far away as 9 miles (15 km). In addition, it can cover an area of 360° and can slew on target across 60° in only 700 ms to engage 20 Group 1 drones per minute, either as a stand-alone weapon or as part of a layered defense system.
If required, the Apollo can also be mounted on a vehicle platform.
But the party piece of the Apollo is that it has its own internal power supply that allows it to operate even when the mains are down. According to EOS, the Apollo laser can engage 200 drones before it runs out of juice. Of course, when it's hooked up to its primary power source it can fire indefinitely as long as the electronics hold out.
"EOS has developed its high energy laser weapon to meet the urgent market need and emerging strategic requirement to defend against drone swarm attacks at an economical cost," said Dr. Andreas Schwer, EOS Group CEO. "There is strong international interest in high energy laser weapons, and it is increasingly clear they will play a central role in counter-drone defense. The demand is urgent and accelerating, which is why EOS has invested for years to bring this capability to a level of maturity. Being ITAR-free and fully controlled by EOS, Apollo is ready for partners to adopt, localize and sustain as their own."
Source: EOS
