Marine Corps personnel are currently evaluating the Compact Laser Weapons System, or CLaWS, which serves as the first Department of Defense (DoD)-approved ground-based laser.
The DoD has recently begun to view directed energy weapons, which are commonly known as lasers, as an affordable alternative to traditional firepower keeping enemy drones from tracking and targeting Marines on the ground.
“This was all in response to a need for counter unmanned aerial systems to take down drones,” said Don Kelley, program manager for Ground Based Air Defense (GBAD) at Program Executive Officer Land Systems. “We developed a CLaWS prototype for Marines to use and evaluate.”
The analysis has determined the prototype continues to do well in the current research and development phase, serving as a component to an overall system used to counter drones.
“The typical acquisition timeline can be lengthy,” Lt. Col. Ho Lee, product manager for GBAD Future Weapons Systems at PEO Land Systems, said. “But this project, from start to finish, from when we awarded the DOTC (Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium) contract, to getting all the integration complete, all the testing complete, getting the Marines trained and getting the systems ready to deploy—took about one year.”
Operational use of CLaWS and other new laser weapons requires Office of the Secretary of Defense approval, adding it involves various factors such as legal reviews, concepts of employment, rules of engagement, tactics, potential collateral damage and human effects, proposed public affairs guidance and other relevant information.