The draft Request for Proposal RFP for the US Army Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Fires (PAE Fires) Enduring-High Energy Laser (E-HEL) requirement issued in January 2026 aimed at producing and rapidly field up to 24 E-HEL systems. On 2 September, 2026, PAE Fires announced that AeroVironment was awarded a landmark contract valued at US$ 464.8 million under which the company will provide an undisclosed number of Locust X3 laser weapon systems
“The Enduring High Energy Laser Program, is historically significant. It’s not simply about lasers defeating a drone. It is the transition of directed energy toward an enduring place in the Army’s force structure, Mary Klum, president of AeroVironment Space Cyber and Directed Energy Segment, told a selected group of media during a conference call. “When you think of Locust, our system, it is adding an entirely new class of defensive effect and changing how we can protect the warfighter against the threats of today and tomorrow,” she added.
The Locust X3 builds on the experience gained with previous generation Locust systems, known as Locust X2, developed to answer the AMP-HEL (Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser) and P-HEL (Palletized-High Energy Laser) programmes, which prototypes are being successfully used by the US Army. The Locust X2 is a 20 to 25-kilowatt class HEL weapon system engineered for C-UAS.
The new Locust X3 is a 20–35+ kW class HEL, the current version power being 30 kW; no details were provided about the actual power of the single module, the AeroVironment system combining multiple high-power laser beams into one. As the name indicates, the Locust X3 was designed to be a Group 3 killer, Group 3 UAVs having a take-off mass between 25 and 600 kg, an operating altitude up to 18,000 ft and an operating speed under 250 kts (463 km/h). To neutralise such threats at “several kilometres” the laser beam must remain on target for a “single digit” seconds, according to information provided. The Locust X3 is fitted with an advanced AI-enabled detection, tracking, and target prioritization system, and with the company Halo PINPOINT precision fire control.
The Locust X3 open architecture allows to plug-and-play a wide variety of radars and other types of sensors which ensure surveillance and acquisition, passing data to the Locust advanced gimballed electro-optical tracking system, the system ISR unit featuring a fine tracking system (FTS), powerful telescope, laser rangefinder, acquisition tracking system (ATS), and targeting laser. Multiple camera payload options provide a wide field of view, aiding in early target identification and tracking which, EDR On-Line understood, can be used not only for the company HEL but also for other effectors, the C-UAS mission being typically assigned to a layer of defensive systems.
No data were given on the “rate of fire” although laser weapon systems are designed to successively engage several incoming targets in sequence, providing the energy source is capable to power the system.
The Locust X3 human-machine interface is based on an XBOX-like intuitive gaming controller which makes it easier, especially for young soldiers, to operate the system.
The Locust X3 was designed as a modular and platform agnostic system. “I expect some of these initial deliveries will be on Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTVs) and then on Infantry Squad Vehicles (ISVs) as well,” John Garrity, Vice President of Directed Energy Systems at AeroVironment said, adding that “ I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re on every platform in the Army fleet here in the coming years.”
Of course the Locust X3 will not operate alone; “For current UAS, a layered defence is required. A lot of that stems from the fact that drones are very diverse in types and uses. You have fixed wing, you have rotary wing, you have Group 1, 2, and 3. And so there is no one kind of magic silver bullet. In that layered defence we like to call the laser the apex predator in that it is out there because it is so cheap to engage with, because it is so fast with the speed of light engagements, it can really kill a lot of threats. It is able to kill high volumes of threats so that you can save your more expensive effectors for more exquisite threats and your layered defence system does not run out of bullets as fast,” Aaron Westman, Senior Director of Army/MDA Business Development Domestic Sales – Directed Energy explained.
AeroVironment systems, including Locust X3, are natively built as part of the Modular Open Systems Approach ecosystem, and are interoperable with every command and control (C2) system, EDR On-Line understood, including Anduril’s Lattice and IBCS-M (Integrated Battle Command System Maneuver (IBCS-M) , Northrop Grumman’s Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control FAAD C2, MEDUSA (Multi-Environmental Domain Unmanned Systems Application) C-UAS C2 application.
No information on Locust X3 deployment operationally relevant details were provided, the company leaving that to the Army. However the speakers underlined that “one of the most important things about this particular program, E-HEL, is that it is purpose built to be ready for all types of warfare around the globe in all types of environments, and so we expect that as we start delivering these Locust X-3s at scale, they will be everywhere, in all Combatant Commands across the globe, because that is how needed this capability is.”
“We are going to start off with a 30 kilowatt laser weapons system, but it affords us the opportunity to continue to right size and scale our power levels up and down, for wherever the threat needs to be. So we will start off with that 30 kilowatt class that we’ll be initially delivering. And then the big part of the construct that the Army is building here is that ecosystem of continued improvement. So you’ll likely see higher power systems rolling off that we will be working on here in short term, along with lower cost, more attritable or at a higher proliferation rate systems.” Detailing on current production capability John Garrity said that “we have been in the tens of systems per year, now we are scaling into the twenties per year, and we will be scaling well beyond that here in the coming 12 to 24 months.” AeroVironment is investing in new production lines and the optimisation of the supply chain, setting up a coalition of partners across the US to multi-source components.
While the E-HEL programme is an Army one, this does not mean that the Locust X3 will remain a land-only system. “The Navy has to provide the same level of protection and needs to be able to kill drones at the speed of light,” and in October 2025 one of the previous members of the Locust family successfully demonstrated its capacity in a test conducted aboard the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) in collaboration with the US Navy and the US Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office. “During that recent event on the USS George Bush where we were able to kill essentially 100% of the drones that flew at us, so the system is quite highly effective. With a laser, as long as you can see something, you can hit it. So it is extremely effective at these types of engagements,” Aaron Westman added.
AeroVironment proposes its Locust X3 in different configurations: fixed and semi-fixed, mobile, containerised and maritime.
Photos and graphics courtesy AeroVironment
