The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Preble successfully destroyed four drones last year using Lockheed Martin’s HELIOS high-energy laser system, marking the first confirmed multi-target engagement at sea.

HELIOS, a 60-kilowatt-class directed-energy weapon that can also function as an optical “dazzler,” is designed to neutralize drones and small boats while conserving traditional missiles for higher-priority threats.

Preble, the only Navy ship equipped with HELIOS since 2022, demonstrates the Navy’s push to make lasers a primary defense against close-range threats like drone swarms.

Lasers offer advantages such as virtually unlimited “ammunition” and lower costs compared with missile intercepts, though challenges remain with targeting speed, environmental conditions, and shipboard power and cooling, the Kyiv Post has reported.

Separately, Ukraine has reportedly developed the Tryzub laser system, capable of countering drones at certain altitudes, positioning it among the few nations fielding operational military lasers.