Raytheon Developing Advanced Laser Systems for U.S. Air Force Deployment

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Raytheon Company will build two prototype high energy laser systems to be deployed to troops overseas under a U.S. Air Force contract. Soldiers will use the HEL system to destroy hostile drones.

Raytheon's HEL system uses pure energy to detect, identify and instantly take down drones. It can target a single drone with precision.

Raytheon's mobile high energy laser looks out into a wide-open sky. The company's advanced high power microwave and high energy laser engaged and defeated dozens of unmanned aerial system targets in a recent U.S. Air Force demonstration.

"Every day, there's another story about a rogue drone incident," said Stefan Baur, vice president of Raytheon Electronic Warfare Systems. "These threats aren't going away, and shooting them down with defensive missiles isn't always the most effective and safest way to bring them down."

The contract follows successful demonstrations of Raytheon's directed energy systems for the Air Force and the U.S. Army.

About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2018 sales of $27 billion and 67,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 97 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I  products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass.