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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…

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