By PAI
Sept. 5, 2026
WASHINGTON — The Army has awarded AeroVironment Inc. an Other Transaction Agreement for production under the Enduring-High Energy Laser program, a step the service calls its first production contract for a high-energy laser weapon system. 1 AeroVironment says the E-HEL award is valued at $464.8 million and covers delivery of dozens of 30-kilowatt LOCUST X3 laser weapon systems over the next few years, along with support and training. 2
The precise public figure is $464.8 million, or $464,800,000. 2 The $465 million used in the headline of a Defense News report linked by Frank Lozano on LinkedIn is the same number rounded to the nearest million; it is $200,000 above the precise company-reported value, not evidence of a separate award. 3 4
The released records do not show that the full $464.8 million has been obligated or spent. 1 2 Neither the Army announcement nor AeroVironment’s release includes the executed OTA, an agreement number, a funding-obligation record, line items, unit prices or a term expressly identified as the agreement’s ceiling. 1 2 The amount can therefore be described as the publicly announced value of the production OTA, but not as a verified current obligation or a legally documented ceiling. 1 2
| Status item | Publicly supported position |
|---|---|
| Award | The Army announced a production OTA to AeroVironment for E-HEL on Sept. 2. 1 |
| Value | AeroVironment reports $464.8 million; the Army release gives no dollar figure. 1 2 |
| System and power | AeroVironment identifies dozens of 30-kilowatt LOCUST X3 systems; the Army release does not name LOCUST X3 or state a power rating. 1 2 |
| Delivery status | AeroVironment says deliveries will occur over the next few years; the Army says E-HEL is moving toward operational fielding. 1 2 |
| Public limits | No executed OTA, exact system count, obligation amount, dated delivery plan or production-system acceptance record is public in the reviewed award material. 1 2 |
Production transition for a counter-drone mission
The Army describes E-HEL as a transition from prototype development to production and says the system is intended to counter unmanned aircraft threats while protecting critical assets and maneuver forces. 1 It says the design uses a modular open-systems approach with 11 major interfaces and is intended for fixed bases, semi-fixed tactical sites and mobile combat vehicles. 1 Those statements describe the program’s architecture and intended uses, not completed operational fielding or released measures of combat effectiveness. 1
AeroVironment identifies the production system as LOCUST X3 and calls the award configuration a platform-agnostic, 30-kilowatt weapon for layered defense against Group 1 through Group 3 unmanned aircraft systems. 2 The company says the systems will support multi-year fielding requirements, can be integrated with platforms including the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and can be offered in palletized configurations; it says possible Infantry Squad Vehicle integration remains under analysis. 2 The Army’s announcement does not independently publish the model, power, UAS-group scope, exact quantity, platform mix or delivery cadence. 1
“Dozens” is the only production-quantity description in the post-award company release. 2 A January 2026 draft solicitation discussed producing and rapidly fielding up to 24 systems, but SAM.gov expressly labeled that document a draft request for proposals, said it was not a request for proposals and said it was not a government commitment. 5 The draft figure is therefore pre-award planning, not the awarded quantity. 5
The Army says an electrically powered laser can provide a lower-cost alternative to kinetic interceptors and can regenerate its magazine through its power supply. 1 That does not mean the magazine is unlimited: government assessments of directed-energy weapons identify power, energy storage, cooling, line of sight and atmospheric effects as operating constraints. 6 7 The Government Accountability Office says high-energy lasers generally engage one target at a time and that effect depends on dwell time, range and aim point. 7 Public material does not disclose LOCUST X3’s effective range, probability of kill, dwell or retarget time, electrical demand, cooling capacity, duty cycle, availability, saturation performance or adverse-weather test results. 2 6 7
What the testing record shows
The public testing record must be separated from the September production award. 1 A March 7-8 event at White Sands Missile Range evaluated the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser, or AMP-HEL, not a publicly identified E-HEL production unit. 8 9 Before the event, the Department of War said the test would gather data on laser effects against aircraft surrogates, validate automated safety shut-offs and inform aircrew eye-safety analysis. 8
In April, the Federal Aviation Administration said a data-informed safety assessment conducted with the Department of War found that proper controls were in place and that the assessed high-energy-laser counter-drone system did not pose increased or undue risk to the flying public or passenger aircraft. 10 The FAA said the department would continue coordinating with the agency to avoid effects on civilian aircraft, pilots, navigation equipment and air traffic services. 10
That announcement is not a blanket authorization for unrestricted laser use in U.S. airspace. 10 It does not name AeroVironment, LOCUST, LOCUST X3 or E-HEL, and the public record does not include the signed safety agreement, the full risk assessment, approved locations, operating envelopes or engagement rules. 10 AeroVironment says its LOCUST testing at White Sands directly supported the agreement and validated the system for domestic use, but that model-specific and causal description is the company’s characterization, not wording used by the FAA. 2 10
The Army separately reported in August that a system it called the Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser stopped three hostile, cartel-linked drones at the southern border. 11 The official account did not identify the manufacturer, LOCUST variant, power, vehicle, target group, range, weather or shot count, so that engagement cannot be presented as a verified LOCUST X3 or E-HEL production-system result. 11
Earlier Army laser efforts remain distinct
E-HEL follows years of Army directed-energy prototype work, but it should not be described as a renamed version of every predecessor. 1 The Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense effort used 50-kilowatt-class lasers on Strykers, while AeroVironment describes the E-HEL award configuration as a 30-kilowatt LOCUST X3 with multiple potential platform options. 2 12
GAO reported in 2025 that DE M-SHORAD was not mature enough to transition to a program office after prototype demonstrations and experimentation, delaying the planned transition by about two years. 12 The Pentagon’s director of operational test and evaluation later reported that the Army was no longer pursuing DE M-SHORAD as a program of record after fielding prototype vehicles for assessment. 13 Those records make DE M-SHORAD an important source of lessons, not proof of an earlier production program identical to E-HEL. 12 13
The Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High Energy Laser is also separate. 14 That 300-kilowatt-class effort was a prototype intended for fixed and semi-fixed defense against a broader threat set; the Congressional Research Service reported that it would not transition to operational fielding and would instead inform the Joint Laser Warfighting System. 14 Earlier AMP-HEL deliveries were likewise prototypes: AeroVironment reported two 20-kilowatt-class LOCUST systems on Infantry Squad Vehicles and two more on Joint Light Tactical Vehicles. 15 16 Those 20-kilowatt-class prototype deliveries should not be substituted for the company’s 30-kilowatt description of the E-HEL production configuration. 2 15 16
The Army-specific wording also matters. The service calls E-HEL its first production contract for a high-energy laser weapon system. 1 AeroVironment makes the broader claim that the action is the first such production contract in U.S. history, but the reviewed government announcement does not make that government-wide historical claim or present an exhaustive comparison of other services’ directed-energy awards. 1 2
Lozano’s post is context, not contract evidence
The public LinkedIn page attributes a post to Frank Lozano praising the pace of his PAE Fires team and saying it was serious about “driving new capability into the force now.”3 The post linked to the Defense News story with the rounded $465 million headline, but it included no award identifier, executed agreement or funding documentation. 3 4
Lozano’s enthusiasm is useful context for how Army acquisition leadership is presenting the milestone, but it does not establish the OTA’s legal or financial terms. 3 The award itself is established by the Army announcement; the $464.8 million value, LOCUST X3 name, 30-kilowatt power, “dozens” quantity and multi-year delivery language come from AeroVironment. 1 2
The defensible status as of Sept. 5 is consequently narrow but significant: the Army has announced a production OTA to AeroVironment for E-HEL, while the company has announced an agreement value of $464.8 million and future delivery of dozens of 30-kilowatt LOCUST X3 systems. 1 2 The public record does not yet establish full funding, an exact quantity, completed production delivery, operational fielding, system-specific FAA authorization or detailed production-system performance. 1 2 10