Jane Edwards
An industry team led by Raytheon Technologies’ intelligence and space business and KBR’s wholly owned subsidiary Kord conducted live-fire exercises of a 50 kilowatt-class laser mounted on a Stryker armored vehicle at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and demonstrated the capability of the weapon system to counter multiple 60mm mortar rounds and drones.
Raytheon said Monday the high-energy laser weapon system on Stryker is part of the U.S. Army’s Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense program, which is designed to protect warfighters from unmanned aircraft systems, rockets, artillery, rotary-wing aircraft and other aerial threats.
“This team once again showed that the HEL system is fully-integrated and ready to provide protection against complex threats,” said Byron Bright, president of KBR Government Solutions and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner.
Raytheon Intelligence & Space provides the high energy laser weapon module, targeting sensor, beam control system and a specialized radar acquisition platform. Kord serves as the primary integrator of the HEL system on the Stryker vehicle.
Other companies working with Raytheon and Kord are General Dynamics’ land systems business, Rocky Research and Applied Technology Associates.
General Dynamics provides the Stryker platform, while Rocky Research supplies power and thermal management system for the program. Applied Technology Associates provides additional sensors to the team.
The industry team is working to deliver four DE M-SHORAD systems to Army’s brigade combat teams in 2022.
RI&S is building HEL weapon systems through its McKinney, Texas-based facility. The technology comes with a ruggedized design and open architecture that can be installed on various platforms to protect military and civilian assets from airborne threats.
