The Army is increasingly concerned with the prevalence of weaponized unmanned aerial systems (UAS), which both near-peer and non-state adversaries have demonstrated to great effect in recent conflicts.
One of the most promising counter-UAS technologies recently demonstrated the ability to shoot down several dozen small drones without firing a single bullet or missile. At the most recent Mobile Fires Integrated Experiment (MFIX), the Army fielded a 5kW version of the Mobile High-Energy Laser (MEHEL) aboard a Stryker wheeled combat vehicle.
Army Capt. Theo Kleinsorge, commander of headquarters for the 2-12 Cavalry at Fort Hood, Texas, was in command of the laser-equipped Stryker during the MFIX event..
Kleinsorge told the Army News Service that his team took down about 50 target drones using the laser onboard the MEHEL. Using directed energy to shoot down drones eliminates the need for space-consuming and weighty conventional ammunition and also produces no acoustic signature that could identify a vehicle’s position to enemy troops.
“From my foxhole as a young captain, I say I am excited to see this in the Army,” Kleinsorge said. “We were skeptical at first, when we were first briefed we’d be shooting down drones with lasers. And by the end of it, it is absolutely more than feasible. We achieved a success rate well beyond what we expected we’d have. And we are excited to see this go to the next step of the experiment, shooting beyond the horizon, and showing this technology can solve the problem.”
During the MFIX, Kleinsorge replicated the role of an infantry company commander inside the MEHEL 2.0-equipped Stryker.
“It is absolutely a valuable system,” Kleinsorge said, even beyond the ability to destroy a UAS. “Directed energy will hopefully very quickly see itself useful in the realm of breaching obstacle belts, in the realm of active defense, of not just shooting down UASs, but the ability to destroy incoming anti-tank missiles, mortars, field artillery rounds, across the whole of what the counter-rocket, artillery, and mortar mission is currently.”
The MEHEL is just one of three counter-UAS systems the Army experimented with during the event that ran for two weeks and concluded on April 13, according to the Fires Battle Lab at the Fires Center of Excellence. The Army also evaluated the anti-UAV Defence System and a brand-name drone buster that the service did not name. About 40 equipment manufacturers and government program offices participated in the MFIX.
A primary goal of the exercise was to test whether artillery units could take on responsibility for counter-UAS air defense while performing their indirect-fire mission. Leaders of the exercise talk Army reporters that initial analysis shows that they can.
MEHEL was first used at an MFIX in 2016, but that laser was a less powerful, 2kW version. The 2017 experiment was the first time uniformed soldiers got their hands on the laser system in real-world combat simulation.
The so-called “MEHEL 2.0” used in the April event includes on-board radar, new optical sensors, increased laser power, and increased engagement range. The system also includes both hard- and soft-kill capabilities meaning it can physically destroy a small UAS or employ electronic countermeasures to knock the aircraft out of the sky.
In May 2018, the Army plans to field the laser to augment other capabilities already fielding as part of the Counter-UAS Mobile Integration Capability (CMIC), according to Maj. Gen. Terry McKenrick, chief of the Army’s Joint Modernization Command. The laser will be part of the CMIC “defeat mechanism” and likely will be fielded on a Styker.