AeroVironment on Monday said it has landed the first international purchase order for its LOCUST laser weapon system, a direct commercial sale valued at more than $50 million that marks the first foreign export of a US high-energy laser counter-drone platform.
An E-HEL Sequel
The DCS order arrives less than a week after the US Army selected LOCUST for its $464.8 million Enduring-High Energy Laser (E-HEL) production contract — the first-ever US production award for a laser weapon system — turning what was a prototype line months ago into a two-tranche international backlog.
What LOCUST Is Doing In The Field
The 30-kW-class LOCUST X3 tracks and burns down Group 1-3 drones — reconnaissance quadcopters, one-way attack drones and larger tactical UAS — for less than $10 per shot, an economics story AV has hammered as Iranian-style Shahed swarms drive up interceptor costs. The system has scored the military's first acknowledged laser kills on the southern border, engaged drones from the deck of USS George H. W. Bush and been integrated onto Infantry Squad Vehicles and JLTVs under the AMP-HEL initiative.
Scaling A Domestic Base For Foreign Demand
To feed the new international demand, AV is spending more than $30 million to expand its Albuquerque, New Mexico manufacturing campus, adding 450 jobs and vertically integrating LOCUST alongside its Halo_Shield layered air defense stack. The FAA and the Department of War have also signed a landmark agreement that clears LOCUST to operate in US airspace, another prerequisite for foreign customers evaluating the platform.
What's Next
AV declined to name the buyer, though the file names attached to its press release referenced UAE. Chief executive Wahid Nawabi said the deal signals "increasing global recognition that high-energy laser weapon systems are essential to modern air defense."
Reporting based on coverage from AeroVironment, DefenseScoop, Breaking Defense and Eurasian Times.