Boeing Laser Avenger
Boeing Laser Avenger is an infrared laser system (with power levels somewhere in the tens of kilowatts range) mounted on an AN/TWQ-1 Avenger combat vehicle developed by Boeing Combat Systems in Huntsville, Alabama. Laser Avenger integrates a directed energy weapon together with the kinetic weapons of the Avenger air defense system. History. Jan 2009 - "If funded by the Pentagon, the Laser Avenger could be available within a year," said Boeing spokesman Marc Selinger. Boeing has so far funded the project itself. Dec 2008 - Testing at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., Laser Avenger succeeded in its principal  test objectives by targeting and tracking 3 small UAVs (flying against the complex backdrop of mountains and desert). It also shot down one of the UAVs from an operationally relevant range. This marks the first time a combat vehicle has used a laser to shoot down a UAV. As part of the overall counter-UAV demonstration, Boeing also successfully test-fired a lightweight 25mm machine gun from the Laser Avenger platform to potentially further the hybrid directed energy/kinetic energy capability against UAV threats. Representatives of the U.S. Army's Cruise Missile Defense Systems project office observed the tests . Gary Fitzmire, vice president and program director of Boeing Directed Energy Systems has stated "Small UAVs armed with explosives or equipped with surveillance sensors are a growing threat on the battlefield. Laser Avenger, unlike a conventional weapon, can fire its laser beam without creating missile exhaust or gun flashes that would reveal its position. As a result, Laser Avenger can neutralize these UAV threats while keeping our troops safe." September 2007 - Boeing successfully tested a 1 kW solid state laser weapon mounted on a converted Avenger anti aircraft vehicle in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The laser successfully destroyed several unexploded mortar  shells from a safe distance and was also able to destroy two unmanned aerial vehicles (which were on the ground).