Raytheon's High-Energy Laser Weapon System Tested With British Army: Details

RTX Corporation RTX disclosed the successful live-firing of its High-Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS) with the British Army, effectively targeting moving aerial threats.

This experiment marks the British Army’s first test of a high-energy laser weapon mounted on an armored vehicle, with soldiers trained on the weapon’s targeting and tracking technologies.

Raytheon’s HELWS is the first laser weapon integrated and fired from a land vehicle in the UK, part of a collaborative program between Raytheon UK and Team Hersa, the joint LDEW initiative involving Defence and Science Laboratory and Defence Equipment and Support.

The trial, held at a military range in Wales, marked the latest phase of the U.K. Ministry of Defence’s Land Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) demonstrator program.

“Our High-Energy Laser Weapon System has been used in operations globally, and now the British Army is experimenting with this game-changing capability,” said James Gray, chief executive and managing director of Raytheon UK.

Matt Cork, Head of Team Hersa, added, “By integrating advanced directed energy technologies onto armoured platforms, we’re not only proving the feasibility of these game-changing systems but also accelerating their path to operational readiness. It’s an exciting step forward in redefining the future of defence capability.”

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF ITA and Global X Funds Global X Defense Tech ETF SHLD.

Price Action: RTX shares are down 0.18% at $117.40 at the last check Wednesday.

Read Next: