LOCKHEED, LASER WEAPON SYSTEM: ATHENA SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDS UAVS THREAT

Lockheed Martin recently demonstrated their laser weapon system for the US Air Force – USAF at a government test range at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where the system successfully engaged and shot down multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – UAVs.

The Advanced Test High Energy Asset – ATHENA operated in a fully-netted engagement environment with a government command and control – C2 system and radar sensor. The radar track was provided to airmen who operated ATHENA via cues from the C2, then ATHENA‘s beam director slewed, acquired, tracked and defeated the drone with a high-energy laser.

“We’ve watched in recent news this type of laser weapon solution is essential for deterring unmanned vehicle type threats, so it’s an exciting time for us to watch airmen compete Lockheed Martin’s critical technology – said at Spazio-News Magazine Sarah Reeves, vice president of Missile Defense Programs for Lockheed -. ATHENA has evolved to ensure integration and agility are key and it remains an affordable capability for the warfighter”.

Validating this type of full kill-chain performance has been a priority of the USAF and other branches of the US Department of Defense, and it remains a requirement for laser weapons to be effective against drones on the battlefield.

The ATHENA system was developed by Lockheed Martin to integrate seamlessly and provide a cost-effective, complementary anti-drone capability – C-UAVs with the network of systems the warfighter is already using. ATHENA was operated by US Air Force personnel during this demonstration, and it was able to destroy multiple Unmanned Aerial Systems – UASs in engagements representative of what is being encountered by US Armed Forces today.

The ATHENA high-energy laser system is transportable and therefore enables the Air Force to emplace it anywhere they need to defend bases and high-value assets.