US Army testing laser weapons on Stryker armored combat vehicles

US Army expected to reopen the competition because the system is considered critical in future operations against prolific threats like unmanned aircraft.

The first set of Stryker combat vehicles equipped with 50-kilowatt laser weapons will be delivered to a unit of Army soldiers at Fort Sill, Okla., by next fall, says the head of the service’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.

The Army calls its Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense system “Guardian.” Army leaders say they plan to conduct more tests this month, after testing the first prototype last spring at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., against one-, two-, and three-class unmanned aircraft, rockets, artillery, and mortars.

Tests will continue through early February. The Army learned from soldier feedback of the first prototype at White Sands and through computer simulations.

The Army first awarded a contract in mid-2019 to Kord Technologies Inc. in Huntsville, Ala., to be prime contractor for the first laser-equipped Stryker armored combat vehicles prototypes. Kord subsequently awarded subcontracts to Northrop Grumman Corp. and Raytheon Technologies for the laser module.

Source: Military & Aerospace Electronics