The Army has awarded BlueHalo a four-year logistics support deal for its work on the Palletized High Energy Laser (P-HEL) program, the company said on Monday.
BlueHalo said the contract establishes the company “as the full-cycle lead system integrator from prototype development to frontline operations for the P-HEL system,” with the Army having now deployed two of the systems overseas to counter small UAS (sUAS) threats.
“With this contract, BlueHalo is now providing full-scale directed energy support to our customers–at home through advanced innovation, in the field through maintenance and training support, and strategically through operational guidance and battlespace management,” Jonathan Moneymaker, the company’s CEO, said in a statement. “Our industry-leading directed energy expertise and intimate knowledge of the P-HEL system, combined with lessons learned from deployment, will truly transform how our Warfighters use laser weapon systems to combat evolving enemy sUAS threats.”
The Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) selected BlueHalo’s LOCUST laser weapon system for P-HEL, with the company having delivered the first system in April 2022. That system was subsequently deployed overseas for operational employment that November.
A second P-HEL prototype was delivered and deployed overseas earlier in 2024, according to BlueHalo.
The value of the new four-year logistics support contract for P-HEL has not been disclosed, while BlueHalo noted it covers “preventative and corrective maintenance along with operator and maintenance team training.”
“We are excited to continue our partnership with the Army and RCCTO to support P-HEL,” Jimmy Jenkins, BlueHalo sector president, said in a statement. “This program captures BlueHalo’s ability to take advanced innovation from rapid prototype to deployment to sustainment, integrating new technologies into operational systems to strengthen our defenses against next-generation air threats.”
BlueHalo said its LOCUST laser weapon system (LWS) for P-HEL “combines precision optical and laser hardware with advanced software, artificial intelligence (AI) and processing to enable and enhance the directed energy ‘kill chain.’”
“LOCUST LWS addresses the inherent need for mobility and quick deployment–tracking, identifying, and engaging of a wide variety of targets with its hard-kill high energy laser,” BlueHalo said in a statement.
The Army RCCTO in April 2023 also awarded BlueHalo a potential $75.9 million deal to supply its LOCUS LWS for the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) program to integrate a 20-kilowatt laser capability on Infantry Squad Vehicles (Defense Daily, April 11 2023).
BlueHalo said it will supply its LOCUST laser weapon system for the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) program, which aims to develop a counter-drone laser capability to help protect Infantry Brigade Combat Teams.
Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch, the RCCTO director, told Defense Daily last year the aim is to field AMP-HEL prototypes in fiscal year 2024.
Rasch said AMP-HEL is focused on countering Group 1 and 2 UAS threats, adding the program may look at Group 3 UAS threats once prototypes are available for testing.