The destroyer Preble successfully test-fired its HELIOS system on a drone target, according to a recently released report.

A jaw-dropping new photo shows the US Navy firing off a drone-destroying laser weapon — dubbed “Helios” — from one of its warship. The undated image, which was published in the US Center for Countermeasures’ annual report this month,

The U.S. Navy’s High Energy Laser and Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS) system faced its first airborne target during a test in 2024, a first-time for the HELIOS program that will help the U.S. Navy inform other programs under the Directed Energy and Electric Weapon System effort.