The world’s largest aerospace company Boeing announced Tuesday that its Compact Laser Weapon System continues to prove its readiness for the U.S. Navy’s counter-unmanned aircraft system.
“In five different tests with military operators engaged at the controls, the system countered 100+ unmanned aerial vehicles,” the Boeing Defense tweeted.
Silent, invisible and precise—Boeing’s Compact Laser Weapons System (CLWS) harnesses directed energy on its targets. The Compact Laser Weapons System is portable and can set up quickly.
CLWS contains an integrated counter-Unmanned Aerial System package, including a radar system for detection and a high-resolution sensor system for target identification and aimpoint selection.
For ground-based applications, the weapon can be mounted on a wheeled platform or placed on a tripod and on top of its corresponding military container, which houses the electric power and cooling subsystems or mounted at the wheeled platform.
According to open-source, the silent laser gun uses a 2 kW laser. The full laser weapon system, including the command-and-control and fire control components, are packed into a small shipping container. The total weight of a single CLWS system, including the container, is 2,267.96 kg.
The CLWS is already part of the Army’s Mobile Expeditionary High Energy Laser program. It’s deployed on Stryker vehicle in Europe and has been used in field experiments.
Our Compact Laser Weapon System continues to prove its readiness for the @USNavy’s counter-unmanned aircraft system. In five different tests with military operators engaged at the controls, the system countered 100+ unmanned aerial vehicles. #SNA2020 pic.twitter.com/zoJK1BQeQx
— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) January 14, 2020
