AeroVironment Wins $464.8M US Army Laser Weapons Contract

AeroVironment has secured a $464.8 million US Army contract to supply LOCUST X3 high-energy laser systems under the Enduring-High Energy Laser program, moving the service toward production-scale directed-energy counter-drone weapons. The award also expands a technology portfolio from a US defense supplier that already has a procurement footprint in Central and Eastern Europe through Lithuania and other regional customers of its unmanned and loitering-munition systems. 

The contract, announced on September 2, covers the US Army's Enduring-High Energy Laser, or E-HEL, program. AeroVironment said the Army plans to receive dozens of LOCUST X3 systems over the next several years, while initial capabilities are expected within a year. 

LOCUST X3 moves US Army lasers into production

The award represents the US Army's first production contract for a high-energy laser weapon, according to AeroVironment and reporting by Breaking Defense. The transition is significant because directed-energy counter-UAS systems have spent years moving through demonstrations, prototypes and operational evaluations before reaching a formal production program. 

LOCUST X3 uses a 30-kilowatt laser and is designed to engage unmanned aircraft through Group 3, according to Breaking Defense. US classifications place Group 3 unmanned aircraft at weights of less than 1,320 pounds, significantly expanding the target set beyond small commercial quadcopters. 

AeroVironment expects production capacity to increase as the E-HEL program develops. Company officials indicated that LOCUST X3 could initially be integrated on Joint Light Tactical Vehicles and Infantry Squad Vehicles, with heavier platforms such as Strykers potentially following later. 

The company previously delivered two Joint Light Tactical Vehicle-mounted LOCUST systems to the US Army under the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser prototyping effort in December 2025. That program provided a bridge between earlier laser development and the production decision represented by E-HEL. 

AeroVironment already has a CEE defense footprint

The E-HEL contract is a US procurement decision and does not indicate that LOCUST X3 has been ordered by a Central or Eastern European military. However, AeroVironment already has established customer relationships in the region, making the company's expansion into production-scale counter-UAS systems relevant to the CEE defense market.

Lithuania became the first country outside the United States to procure Switchblade 600 loitering munitions when it signed an agreement with the US government in December 2022. Lithuania's Ministry of National Defence said the system provides the Lithuanian Armed Forces with a deployable capability to engage armored targets at distances of up to 40 kilometers. 

Lithuania subsequently expanded its relationship with AeroVironment. In December 2024, the country's Defence Materiel Agency signed a $7.8 million contract excluding VAT with the US government for additional small unmanned aircraft manufactured by AeroVironment. 

Those vertical takeoff unmanned systems were acquired for surveillance and fire-adjustment missions and were intended for integration with Lithuania's Switchblade 600 capability. Lithuania said deliveries were planned for the end of 2025, with additional acquisitions envisaged. 

The procurement relationship gives AeroVironment an existing entry point into one of NATO's most active defense markets on the alliance's eastern flank.

Counter-drone demand is reshaping layered air defense

The relevance of LOCUST X3 to Europe extends beyond AeroVironment's existing customers. NATO militaries face the problem of matching inexpensive and increasingly numerous unmanned threats with interceptors that can cost substantially more than their targets.

High-energy lasers offer a different engagement model. Rather than launching a missile or firing conventional ammunition, the weapon uses electrical power to generate the beam, potentially allowing repeated engagements while power and thermal-management capacity remain available.

That does not make lasers a replacement for missiles, guns or electronic warfare. Weather, atmospheric conditions, line of sight, power generation and thermal management can constrain directed-energy weapons, making them one component of a layered counter-UAS architecture rather than a universal interceptor.

For CEE militaries, that distinction is particularly relevant. Countries bordering Russia and Belarus are simultaneously investing in conventional ground-based air defense while confronting the proliferation of reconnaissance drones, one-way attack systems and other unmanned threats demonstrated by the war in Ukraine.

A production program on the scale of the US Army's E-HEL award could therefore matter beyond the immediate American requirement. It gives AeroVironment a larger production base for a technology category that European NATO members are also examining as they expand counter-UAS capacity.

There is currently no announced LOCUST X3 procurement by Lithuania or another CEE country, and the US Army contract should not be interpreted as evidence of a planned European sale. The regional connection instead lies in AeroVironment's existing customer base and the broader CEE requirement for more sustainable methods of defeating large numbers of drones.

What is the US Army E-HEL contract worth?

The US Army awarded AeroVironment a $464.8 million contract for the Enduring-High Energy Laser program. The company is expected to deliver dozens of LOCUST X3 systems over the next several years. 

What is the AeroVironment LOCUST X3?

LOCUST X3 is a mobile high-energy laser weapon designed for counter-UAS missions. The system selected for the US Army program uses a 30-kilowatt laser and is designed to engage unmanned aircraft through Group 3. 

Does AeroVironment operate in Central and Eastern Europe?

AeroVironment already supplies systems to customers in the region. Lithuania has acquired Switchblade 600 loitering munitions and later ordered additional AeroVironment unmanned aircraft under a separate $7.8 million procurement. 

Has a CEE country ordered LOCUST X3?

No CEE procurement of LOCUST X3 was announced alongside the September 2 US Army contract. The regional significance comes from AeroVironment's existing presence in the market and growing NATO demand for counter-drone capabilities rather than from a confirmed European laser sale.

The E-HEL award now gives AeroVironment a path to move LOCUST from limited fielding into sustained production. For Central and Eastern European customers already buying the company's unmanned systems, that adds a production-scale counter-UAS weapon to the portfolio of a supplier they already know.

Sources: AeroVironment E-HEL announcement, Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence Switchblade procurement, Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence additional UAS procurement.