Weapons

US Army Hopes to Have Laser Weapons on the Battlefield by 2024

The Pentagon has been developing laser weapons for years, hoping that the technology can be used to bring down enemy drones, among other things.

Last month, the US military took its High Energy Laser Mobile Test Truck (HELMTT) program to a test range at the Fires Center of Excellence Battle Lab at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

“We integrated HELMTT for the first time into an Army command and control network,” said program manager Adam Aberle, according to Defense News. “We learned how a laser platform would operate in a relevant tactical environment.”

Run by the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command and Army Forces Strategic Command, the HELMTT tests used a "simulated" environment to test the vehicle’s ability to acquire, track, engage, and destroy both ground and air targets.