Raytheon Company has announced that it will deploy two prototype high energy laser weapon systems to troops overseas under a U.S. Air Force contract. The Air Force experimentation includes 12 months of in-field operation against unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and operator training.

Raytheon’s HELWS uses pure energy to detect, identify and instantly take down drones. Mounted on a Polaris MRZR all-terrain vehicle, it can track and target a single drone with precision. The HELWS is paired with Raytheon’s Multi-spectral Targeting System, and uses invisible beams of light to defeat hostile UAS.

Find suppliers and manufacturers of Anti-Drone solutions >

“Every day, there’s another story about a rogue drone incident,” said Stefan Baur, vice president of Raytheon Electronic Warfare Systems. “These threats aren’t going away, and in many instances, shooting them with a high energy laser weapon system is the most effective and safest way to bring them down.”

The contract follows successful demonstrations of Raytheon’s directed energy systems for the Air Force and the U.S. Army.