AV wins US Army E-HEL contract

AV displayed Locust X3 for the first time at the Association of the United States Army Global Force conference on 24 March. (AV)

The US Army awarded AeroVironment (AV) a USD464.8 million contract for its Enduring High Energy Laser (E-HEL), according to a 2 September army statement.

The Other Transaction Authority (OTA) will cover “dozens” of Locust X3 lasers, John Garrity, vice president of directed energy systems, told reporters on 7 August. It is the one of the army's several contracts for directed energy systems, which have previously been for one to two systems at a time.

The E-HEL programme is meant to buy weapons that can counter unmanned aerial system (UAS) “while offering a low cost-per-shot and a magazine that regenerates with the system's power supply”, according to the army statement. X3 is specifically designed to be a Group 3 UAS killer, but it can be scaled to target smaller UAS, said Garrity.

Initial capabilities will be delivered over the year to go through government acceptance testing, said Garrity. The laser is spectrum beam combined and provides up to 30 kW of directed energy.

X3 was first unveiled in March 2026 after Janes learnt that AV was competing for the E-HEL contract in August 2025.

While X3 is designed for integration on any ground vehicle, the first deliveries will likely be integrated on Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) or Infantry Squad Vehicles (ISVs), Garrity said.

AV is ramping up to produce numbers of the Locust system in the 20-30 range per year, and the company plans to scale beyond that in the next 12 to 24 months, he said.