The US Navy Tested the Anti-Drone Laser LOCUST on the USS George H.W. Bush Aircraft Carrier

AeroVironment has announced the successful completion of an operational demonstration of its LOCUST (Laser Weapon System) laser system aboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier, in collaboration with the US Navy and the Army's RCCTO office. The test, which took place in October 2025, involved a live-fire event during which the P-HEL (Palletized High Energy Laser) system demonstrated the capability to track, engage, and simultaneously neutralize multiple target drones. This is a significant step towards the operational adoption of directed energy weapons in multi-domain contexts.

Eliminating drones at the speed of light - on any platform, in any domain, for any mission.

"Rolling LOCUST onto a ship and quickly initiating operations facilitates the expanded use of high-energy lasers across the Fleet without the need for costly, time-consuming ship modifications."

— AV (@aerovironment) April 21, 2026

One of the key elements that emerged from the demonstration concerns the agnostic nature of LOCUST. The system is designed to be rapidly integratable on various platforms, from ground vehicles like JLTV and ISV to complex naval units like a moving aircraft carrier. The configuration eliminates the need for permanent structural modifications to the ships, reducing integration time and costs, thereby facilitating broader deployment within the fleet.

A relevant technical aspect concerns the system's power supply. LOCUST can operate using the power generated by the ship directly or through its own energy storage system. In either case, the result is a virtually unlimited "ammunition store," typical of directed energy weapons. The test also highlighted the system's pointing and beam control capabilities in a particularly complex context: a moving naval platform. The system was able to acquire and track aerial targets, maintaining sufficient accuracy to neutralize them.

According to the company, the open architecture and common interfaces also allow for easy interoperability among different armed forces, promoting joint adoption. As is well known, the use of drones has been expanding rapidly in recent conflicts, making the need for scalable anti-drone solutions a priority. Systems like LOCUST complement other technologies, including high-power microwave solutions or RF systems, in a multilayered defense approach.