Australian Defense Company Electro Optic Systems Unveils Anti-Drone Laser

What Happened?

Australian defense company Electro Optic Systems has unveiled its new Apollo high energy laser system, which they claim can down up to two hundred unmanned aerial drones without being connected to an external power source. The High Energy Laser Weapon, or HELW, produces up to 150 kilowatts of power, which can be directed against a number of targets, including drones.

According to Electro Optic Systems, at least one NATO country has already placed an order to purchase the system, but they did not disclose the identity of the buyer. 

Why it Matters

Directed energy weapons like the Apollo HELW have been under development for the past decade as a way to counter the growing proliferation of combat drones. The advantage of using lasers is that they can be fired multiple times very quickly at several different targets without the need to reload. The disadvantages of using lasers include their high energy needs and limited range, as the atmosphere often distorts and dilutes the effectiveness of lasers the further they travel from their source.

The Apollo system generates enough power to disable or destroy drones as large as those weighing up to five hundred kilograms. In war zones like Ukraine, most of the drones being used are far smaller than five hundred kilograms, with most weighing as little as twenty kilos. Lasers destroy drones by focusing intense energy beams on the body of the drone, punching a hole through the surface with heat, then damaging or destroying key components. 

According to New Atlas, the Apollo HEWL system can fit inside a standard 20-ft shipping container with two emitter units protruding from the top. And Electro Optic Systems claims that it can destroy drones at a range of up to 1.86 miles or disable their optical sensors from as far away as 9 miles.

The range is a key factor because many of the drones being used in places like Ukraine must get within a few meters of their targets to be effective, and disabling or destroying them before that range is achieved would render them ineffective.

Just in the past five years, the number and type of combat drones have increased substantially, mostly due to the innovation of combatants in Russia and Ukraine. Because drones are small and relatively slow, most don’t show up on radar, and they can be hard to detect visually until they are close enough to detonate their warheads. Because they are difficult to detect, attack drones can be equally difficult to stop.

How it Affects You

Drone attacks can occur anywhere, and the threat they pose is no longer limited to battlefields in Ukraine or Gaza. Because of drone proliferation, the need for counter drone systems has greatly increased. Systems like Apollo have yet to be proven under combat conditions, but the initial test results have been promising.