War is always a catalyst for rapid military advancement. In World War I, soldiers rode into battle on horses and rode out in tanks and military jeeps. In just four short years, military innovation had caused the extinction of numerous battle styles and tactics and produced new and powerful weapons of war. This is still seen today, as the Ukraine-Russia conflict has produced a newer, more deadly style of combat: drone warfare.
Drones are a very important and crucial part of the conflict. They can gather intelligence and be used in combat situations. Both Ukraine and Russia are using drone systems to help fight the war, as civilian drones are widely available. They are also beneficial because military aircraft have little use in the war due to the aircraft defenses that both sides have. As Ukraine struggles with military equipment shortages, drones have helped fill the gap. Through this conflict, drones have been proven to be useful and tactically beneficial elements of military arsenals, which warrants the need for a weapon to take them down.
Leading countries around the world have started developing their own drone defense systems, with Great Britain creating a weapon called Dragon Fire and Israel developing the Iron Beam. The United States has created a drone defense weapon called HELIOS (High-Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-Dazzler and Surveillance) to be used as a frontrunner in laser defense systems.
The Navy received its first HELIOS system in 2022 from manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The system, which is capable of blasting more than 60 kilowatts of directed energy at targets up to five miles away, is currently being installed on Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyers that are undergoing upgrades.
Lockheed Martin’s vice president for advanced product solutions, Rick Cordaro, stated in a press release that “HELIOS enhances the overall combat system effectiveness of the ship to deter future threats and provide additional protection for sailors, and we understand we must provide scalable solutions customized to the Navy’s priorities. HELIOS represents a solid foundation for incremental delivery of robust and powerful laser weapon system capabilities.”
The Navy, within the last year, has started testing the capabilities of this weapon. There has been photo documentation of a high-powered beam of light shooting from a naval ship aimed at test drones. While this isn’t the only Optical Dazzling Interdictor, or ODIN, weapon that the Navy has employed in its fleets, the use of these weapons helps deter enemy drone advancements around the world.
Avery Gilley (12) is excited to see the use of the new weapon in combat but worries about its usefulness beyond drone defense.
“I think that these are going to be especially useful for anti-drone measures, but I’m not sure they have much application beyond that,” Gilley said.
