U.S. AeroVironment Wins First International LOCUST Laser Counter-Drone Order in $50M Deal.

U.S. AeroVironment has secured the first international order for its U.S.-built LOCUST high-energy laser counter-drone weapon, confirming a direct commercial sale worth more than $50 million to an undisclosed foreign customer. The deal brings an operationally tested American directed-energy system to an overseas operator, strengthening its ability to defeat drones without relying on costly interceptor missiles.

The initial order includes LOCUST systems and support, giving the customer a reusable laser capability designed to engage unmanned aerial threats at low cost per shot. The sale reflects growing international demand for layered counter-drone defenses as militaries seek scalable ways to protect forces and critical infrastructure from increasingly numerous UAV threats.

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A U.S. Army M1301 Infantry Squad Vehicle fitted with the BlueHalo LOCUST high-energy laser weapon system is displayed during Fort Sill’s annual Fires Symposium in April 2025. The configuration highlights the Army’s effort to integrate mobile directed-energy counter-drone capabilities with maneuver formations. (U.S. Army photo)

Announced by the American Company AeroVironment on September 8, 2026, the export comes only six days after the U.S. Army awarded the company a $464.8 million agreement for the Enduring-High Energy Laser, or E-HEL, program. The near-simultaneous U.S. and foreign commitments could accelerate production scale while giving allied forces access to a laser designed to defeat increasingly numerous low-cost unmanned aircraft.

The timing makes the foreign sale more significant than a conventional first export contract because LOCUST is entering the international market as the same laser weapon family moves from experimentation and limited operational use into U.S. Army production. Under the E-HEL agreement announced September 2, AeroVironment is expected to deliver dozens of LOCUST X3 laser weapon systems over the next several years for layered defense against Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 unmanned aircraft. The Army described the award as its first production contract for a high-energy laser weapon, marking a transition from prototype development toward an enduring fielded capability and reducing the technical and industrial risk normally associated with an emerging directed-energy weapon.

The latest LOCUST X3 configuration is rated at 30 kilowatts and is intended for integration with tactical vehicles including the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, while palletized configurations and Infantry Squad Vehicle integration are also being pursued. That mobility is operationally important because it allows directed-energy protection to move closer to maneuver formations rather than limiting laser defense to fixed bases and permanent installations. For U.S. Army units, LOCUST also addresses one of the most difficult economic problems created by modern drone warfare, as small unmanned aircraft can cost only a fraction of conventional surface-to-air interceptors and force defenders into unfavorable exchange ratios during repeated attacks.

AeroVironment says LOCUST can conduct engagements for less than $10 per shot, using electrical energy instead of a conventional interceptor. Because the laser does not depend on a finite magazine of missiles or cannon ammunition, its practical engagement capacity is determined primarily by available power, thermal management and the ability to maintain an effective beam on the target. High-energy lasers are not a replacement for missile and gun-based air defense, however, because atmospheric conditions, obscurants, target geometry and the time required to deliver sufficient energy can affect performance. LOCUST is therefore most valuable as part of a layered counter-unmanned aircraft architecture in which sensors, electronic warfare, guns, missiles and directed energy can be matched to different threats.

The U.S. Army’s production decision also carries consequences for the American defense industrial base. Larger domestic orders can establish a recurring manufacturing base, spread engineering and production costs across more systems and create a supply chain able to support both American and allied customers. AeroVironment is already expanding that capacity in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where LOCUST is manufactured, after announcing in March 2026 that it would invest more than $30 million across its local manufacturing operations, supported by $5 million from New Mexico and $1 million from the City of Albuquerque, with plans associated with more than 450 additional jobs.

The combination of a $464.8 million U.S. Army production agreement and a foreign order exceeding $50 million gives the Albuquerque expansion a clearer demand signal. For the U.S. defense industrial base, this suggests directed-energy manufacturing is beginning to move toward sustained production rather than relying mainly on small prototype lots and demonstration programs. International demand could also reinforce the Army program by supporting higher production rates, improving component availability and distributing fixed manufacturing costs across a larger customer base.

LOCUST enters the export market with an operational record that is unusual for a newly internationalized laser weapon. AeroVironment says the system achieved acknowledged laser kills against drones during U.S. southern-border operations and defeated multiple unmanned aircraft during testing from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. The naval demonstration is particularly relevant because shipboard forces face a growing requirement to defeat inexpensive one-way attack drones without consuming limited stocks of high-value surface-to-air missiles. A laser capable of repeatedly engaging suitable targets can preserve conventional interceptors for faster, longer-range or more difficult threats while reducing the cost of defending ships against lower-end aerial attacks.

LOCUST has also been tested at White Sands Missile Range and incorporated into U.S. military work involving mobile tactical configurations. AeroVironment says those activities included integration efforts involving Joint Light Tactical Vehicles and Infantry Squad Vehicles, reinforcing the system’s potential role in protecting maneuver forces, command posts and logistics areas from small drones. White Sands testing also contributed to coordination between U.S. defense authorities and the Federal Aviation Administration on the safe operation of high-energy lasers in domestic airspace, an important consideration because widespread fielding requires procedures for beam control, airspace deconfliction and safe employment around civilian and military aviation.

For the undisclosed international customer, the purchase therefore provides access to more than a laboratory laser. The buyer is acquiring a counter-drone weapon whose core technology is entering U.S. Army production and has already accumulated experience in land, maritime and domestic-security environments. The deal may also strengthen interoperability if the customer operates U.S.-supplied tactical vehicles, sensors or command-and-control networks, since LOCUST is designed to accept external sensor cueing and can be incorporated into broader air-defense command structures as one effector within a layered detection and engagement network.

This is increasingly important as NATO members and other U.S. partners reassess short-range air defense after combat in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Red Sea demonstrated how inexpensive drones can impose disproportionate defensive costs. The identity of AeroVironment’s first foreign LOCUST customer has not been disclosed, and the company has not released the number of laser systems covered by the initial delivery, but the value above $50 million indicates a substantial acquisition when associated support is included rather than a single demonstration unit intended only for evaluation.

The broader strategic effect is a gradual change in the economics of short-range air defense. Conventional interceptors will remain essential against many targets, but a combat-relevant laser able to destroy suitable drones for a very low marginal engagement cost gives commanders another way to absorb repeated attacks while conserving missile stocks for threats that genuinely require them. Combined with the E-HEL production decision and the Albuquerque manufacturing expansion, the first foreign sale suggests that high-energy lasers are moving toward a repeatable procurement and production cycle in which domestic and allied demand reinforce each other.

If AeroVironment can convert this first export into additional orders while meeting the Army’s multi-year E-HEL requirements, LOCUST could become one of the first U.S.-built high-energy laser weapons to establish both a sustained American production base and an international user community. That would give the United States and partner forces a more scalable means of confronting drone saturation while strengthening the industrial capacity needed to manufacture directed-energy weapons in operationally relevant numbers.

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Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.