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Navy/USMC

Kilby: HELIOS Laser Weapon Problems Delayed Testing, Not At Full Power

Monday, May 19th, 2025

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Kilby: HELIOS Laser Weapon Problems Delayed Testing, Not At Full Power

Artist rendering of Lockheed Martin's HELIOS laser weapons system used on an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. (Image: Lockheed Martin)

The Navy’s top officer revealed a laser weapon installed on a destroyer to test an ability to disable drones and small boats has had problems in testing and is still not up to its full advertised 60 kW power output. “We had some problems with testing, but now we're up to one-third of the power, and we're going to continue to test that weapon system to make sure it works,” Acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby said about…

Congress

Senate Dems Block Consideration Of FY ‘27 NDAA Over Iran War Concerns

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a vote to advance consideration of the chamber’s $1.14 trillion fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization (NDAA). The procedural vote was 46-50, failing to reach […]

Congress

Concerns Raised At SASC Hearing On Unobligated Reconciliation Funds And Lack Of Updates On Iran War Cost

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) raised concerns at a hearing on Tuesday about the majority of funds in the $153 billion first reconciliation bill being unobligated thus […]

Unmanned Systems

CBO Says Upfront Costs To Protect Military Installations From Drones Between $1 Million And $74 Million

The initial costs to acquire and deploy counter-small unmanned aircraft system (C-sUAS) defenses at individual Defense Department installations are estimated at between $1.2 million and $73.6 million depending on the […]

Congress

House Heads For Recess Without Moving On NDAA After Procedural Vote Fails

The House will leave for the Fourth of July recess without moving forward on its $1.15 trillion fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with a procedural vote to […]