Leonardo Joins $464.8 Million Army Push to Produce Vehicle-Mounted Drone Lasers

The U.S. Army’s first production award for a high-energy laser weapon is bringing Leonardo DRS into a $464.8 million effort to put 30-kilowatt counter-drone systems on mobile platforms. Prime contractor AeroVironment selected Leonardo DRS to provide the power management, thermal control and rugged integration expertise needed to produce its LOCUST X3 system.

The September 2026 award moves the Army’s Enduring-High Energy Laser program beyond prototype work and toward procurement and fielding. It is a significant transition for a technology frequently associated with demonstrations, but production is only one stage: the systems still must complete testing, validation and verification before entering operational use.

LOCUST X3 is designed to counter Group 1 through Group 3 unmanned aircraft, a range that includes small drones as well as larger unmanned systems. AeroVironment’s design combines the laser with sensors and software that detect, track and engage aerial targets. The company describes it as a third-generation, platform-agnostic system with a modular architecture intended to accommodate different vehicles and sensor arrangements.

The Army plans to integrate the system with platforms including the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, while AeroVironment also offers palletized configurations. That flexibility could allow the laser package to move among suitable platforms, but the interfaces do not eliminate the physical demands of generating a high-energy beam aboard a mobile system.

A 30-kilowatt beam requires more than a 30-kilowatt power supply

The laser’s 30-kilowatt rating describes its output, not the complete electrical demand imposed on the vehicle. Electricity is also required by supporting electronics, sensors, computing and thermal-control equipment. Conversion losses mean the platform must supply more energy than ultimately reaches the beam, although the precise power architecture and subsystem specifications have not been disclosed.

Heat is the accompanying constraint. Energy that does not emerge as useful laser output must be managed, and the system’s electronics also generate heat during operation. Leonardo DRS is responsible for contributing expertise in power management, thermal management, environmental control and vehicle integration functions that directly affect how reliably a mobile laser can operate in demanding conditions.

Those supporting systems must fit within the host platform’s available space and weight while tolerating vibration, weather and other environmental loads. Cooling hardware and electrical equipment compete for the same vehicle resources as the laser, sensors and crew-supporting systems. A modular weapon can simplify interfaces and future upgrades, but each installation still requires a workable balance among beam output, electrical generation, heat rejection and platform limits.

Leonardo DRS previously worked with AeroVironment and other industry partners on rapid-prototyping activities involving mobile directed energy. Its new production role therefore extends earlier integration work rather than introducing an entirely new supplier at the manufacturing stage. The value of the Leonardo DRS subcontract has not been disclosed.

Production does not end operational evaluation

AeroVironment says LOCUST X3 can reduce reliance on expendable interceptors. A laser draws from available electrical energy rather than carrying a finite magazine of missiles, but its useful engagement capacity still depends on power, cooling, target characteristics and operating conditions. It is therefore one element of a layered counter-drone system rather than a universal replacement for other defenses.

That layered approach is also being examined through a separate federal pilot. AeroVironment’s palletized high-energy laser was one of four directed-energy systems selected for operational assessment, according to the official program announcement. The pilot is intended to generate information about performance, requirements, costs, integration and sustainment, with coordination involving the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Northern Command.

The first LOCUST X3 is slated for delivery by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027, with the Army targeting testing and potential operational readiness in 2028. Reaching that point will depend not just on whether the laser can produce its rated beam, but on whether the complete vehicle-mounted system can repeatedly supply the electricity, remove the heat and remain maintainable outside a controlled demonstration setting.

By Stephen Wallace — Editor for AMI’s aerospace integration and unmanned mobility coverage, focused on drone manufacturing, VTOL systems, autonomous networks, and air-ground mobility links.