Targeting radar selected for Raytheon’s laser weapon

The laser weapon system is envisioned to neutralise small uncrewed aerial vehicles, from a vehicle mount and separate ground-based A800.

Blighter chief executive officer James Long said the company will assist in the design phase of the laser weapon, concept of operation, and trials support at the UK Ministry test range.

“We are excited to be working with Raytheon UK on this project, which will demonstrate how our cutting-edge A800 e-scanning radar can operate in synchronicity with next-generation laser weapon technology to provide the edge on the battlefield,” he said.

“We are proud to provide our expertise in threat detection and integration for such an important step in counter-UAV operations.”

The A800 3D radar has a maximum range of 20 kilometres for detecting air, land, and sea targets within the operating region of the LDEW laser weapon. It also operates in cohesion with existing command and control systems.

Robert Dougherty

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.