Supporting AeroVironment's LOCUST Laser Weapon System

A fielded laser for counter-UAS defense

On September 2, 2026, AeroVironment announced that the U.S. Army's Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Fires selected LOCUST for the Enduring High Energy Laser (E-HEL) program, a $464.8 million Other Transaction Agreement covering dozens of LOCUST X3 systems, plus support and training, over a multi-year fielding requirement.

LOCUST X3 is a 30-kilowatt, platform-agnostic directed energy system built to defeat Group 1 to 3 unmanned aircraft. It integrates on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and in palletized configurations, with Infantry Squad Vehicle integration planned.

The system has been tested at White Sands Missile Range, validated through Joint Interagency Task Force 401, and demonstrated aboard the USS George H.W. Bush.

Source: AeroVironment press release, September 2, 2026.

Materials and coatings, from our Albuquerque lab

VastVision supports the LOCUST platform with materials and coatings work performed in our own facility. The details of that work are not public, but the capabilities behind it are: an in-house electrodeposition and finishing line, materials characterization down to the nanometer, and a team of former national-laboratory scientists.

High energy laser systems put unusual demands on materials, and they have to perform in the field, not just on the bench. That is the gap our lab is built to close.

Part of New Mexico's directed energy story

New Mexico is where much of the country's directed energy work is developed and tested, from White Sands Missile Range in the south to the research community in Albuquerque.

In March 2026, AeroVironment announced a $30 million manufacturing expansion in Albuquerque. VastVision is headquartered in the same city.