MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. The US Army has jettisoned plans to field the IFPC-HEL (Indirect Fire Protection Capability - High Energy Laser) combat laser in its military arsenal, Laser Wars reported, citing a March report from the US Congressional Research Service (CRS).

The 300-kilowatt IFPC-HEL, also known as "Valkyrie," was expected to be the most powerful combat laser in the US arsenal, capable of protecting ground targets and infrastructure from large-caliber weapons, including cruise missiles.

Its development began in the late 2010s as part of a program of the same name, with Lockheed Martin attached to the project. The laser was based on two previous prototypes: the 100-kilowatt HEL-TVD (High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle Demonstrator) and the 10-kilowatt HELMTT (High Energy Laser Mobile Test Truck).

According to the March 9 Congressional Research Service report, the US Army no longer plans to integrate the IFPC-HEL into its arsenal, despite the fact that this was supposed to happen in fiscal year 2025 (ended September 31 of last year) following successful testing. Instead, according to Laser Wars, the military wants to develop a new, different system. According to the portal, in September 2022, Lockheed Martin delivered the first demonstration prototype of a 300-kilowatt laser to the US Army. Subsequently, in July 2023, the US Army entered into a non-contractual commitment agreement with Lockheed Martin worth about $220.8 million, under which the company was to manufacture four IFPC-HEL prototypes.

According to the Congressional Research Service report, this agreement has since been revised. The number of laser prototypes ordered by the Army has been reduced to one. As of March of this year, the prototype was still undergoing "final lab testing" at Lockheed Martin’s facility in New Jersey ahead of subsequent developmental testing at the service’s Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah this summer.

The delivery of this IFPC-HEL prototype to the US military will occur in September of this year at the earliest, but it will not be accepted into service. As the lawmakers wrote in their document, the prototype will serve as a starting point for the development of a new laser weapon under the Joint Laser Weapon System (JLWS) program.

The latter, according to Laser Wars, is a new collaboration between the Army and US Navy initiated "in support of DoD’s overarching Golden Dome for America strategy" to develop a laser weapon to "provide an Air Defense capability against cruise missile threats," according to the Army’s fiscal year 2026 budget request.

The JLWS "represents the next step in the evolution of counter-cruise missile laser weapons," the budget documents say. The command did not explain how exactly this will manifest itself.

Laser Wars once again highlighted the shortcomings of lasers when used for air defense, emphasizing that causing serious damage to threats such as cruise missiles is no easy task. The portal reports that a potential solution to this problem "lies in pulsed laser technology, which delivers energy in high-intensity femtosecond-long bursts rather than a sustained beam like the popular continuous wave systems."

This type of laser is believed to be less susceptible to distortion and refraction due to external conditions. As a result, its effectiveness and destructive power are increased, while the time it takes to impact a target is reduced.

Laser Wars noted that IFPC-HEL was not the only US military initiative to develop an air defense/missile defense laser. The US Navy is still pursuing the HELCAP (High Energy Laser Counter-ASCM Program), which aims to develop a 300-kilowatt laser, and the SONGBOW project for the development of an even more powerful 400-kilowatt system.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon's HELSI (High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative) program is seeking to develop a 1-megawatt laser capable of intercepting not only cruise missiles but also ballistic and hypersonic missiles. In 2023, the agency awarded a contract to nLight, requiring it to develop a prototype within three years.

According to Aviation Week, Aviation Week, nLight is "on track" to demonstrate that system for defense officials this year, with a successful outcome likely solidifying potential plans to incorporate laser weapons into the Golden Dome’s layered defense architecture.