US Army's E-HEL plan aims to put laser weapons on ordinary vehicles

The US Army is advancing its Enduring-High Energy Laser (E-HEL) program to develop modular laser systems that can be moved between different military vehicles to counter drones. AeroVironment received the production contract in September; the system uses 11 modular interfaces and can deploy from fixed bases, tactical sites and mobile vehicles.

• E-HEL is the Army's first production contract for a high-energy laser weapon
• AeroVironment won the production award in September
• The system uses 11 modular interfaces and is not tied to a single platform
• Lasers offer a lower cost-per-shot than missiles with a power-regenerating magazine