USS Preble's HELIOS Laser Weapon Demonstration

USS Preble's HELIOS Laser Weapon Demonstration.
The Navy has disclosed that the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Preble successfully test-fired its High-Energy Laser with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS) system to take out an aerial target drone in Fiscal Year 2024. It was the latest major demonstration of the surface fleet’s shipboard laser ambitions, even as other U.S. military laser efforts have faced a reality check in recent years.

Preble’s drone zapping was “to verify and validate the functionality, performance and capability” of HELIOS, and this latest step toward moving shipboard lasers into a fully operational state was revealed in the Pentagon’s annual Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOTE) report that was released Friday night.

Little else was disclosed in the DOTE report regarding where and when Preble, a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke subvariant, fired its laser. The warship shifted homeports from San Diego to Japan in September, just a few days before the end of FY24. TWZ has reached out to the Navy for more information on the test and where HELIOS currently stands, and this report will be updated when that information comes in.