Scott Nicholas
Raytheon has combined merged a laser weapon and advanced surveillance equipment to a Polaris-built all-terrain vehicle to develop a new platform that can engage unmanned aerial vehicles using laser beams, Popular Mechanics reported Monday.
The new High Energy Laser Weapon System-MRZR platform features a 30-square-foot electronics package, Polaris’ MRZR ATV and Raytheon’s Multi-spectral Targeting System which also supports electro-optical/infrared sensor functions of the Predator drone.
Ben Allison, director of Raytheon’s high energy laser product line, said that the company developed the tactical vehicle to support forward operating bases and fulfill a customer need for mobile counter-UAV platforms.
HELWS-MRZR will be demonstrated at the U.S. Army Maneuver Fires Experiment at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in December, the report noted.
