{
  "id": 8176352,
  "title": "The Navy’s push for shipboard laser weapons just got a new entrant",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/the-navys-push-for-shipboard-laser-weapons-just-got-a-new-entrant",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-18T04:27:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fast Company",
    "slug": "fast-company",
    "url": "https://www.fastcompany.com/91609056/the-navys-push-for-shipboard-laser-weapons-just-got-a-new-entrant"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The U.S. Navy has awarded a $3.8 million contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and defense contractor EO Solutions to develop a high-energy laser weapon for maritime operations. The contract, issued in June through the Naval Surface Technology & Innovation Consortium, is known as the Counter-Group 3 Marinized MOSA Laser for Navy (Gr3MMLN). The contract emerged from a 2024 Navy solicitation for a prototype counter-drone laser weapon called the Adaptable Transportable Laser Weapon System (ATLAS). The ATLAS solicitation called for a containerized laser weapon with an output between 30 and 100 kilowatts that could operate on a ship's flight deck in a harsh environment for an extended period without degradation. The $3.8 million contract is likely just to support experimentation and testing of an existing system. The funding for the contract came from a $5 million congressional addition to the Navy's fiscal year 2026 budget for an \"enduring high energy laser.\" This contract marks HII's first known contract for a naval laser weapon, following its work with the Army on the Enduring High Energy Laser (E-HEL) effort. The Navy has been making significant investments in laser weapons, with the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act allocating $5 million for a containerized version of the HELIOS system and an additional $2.5 million for a separate containerized maritime laser weapon system. HII's Gr3MMLN initiative appears to be a natural extension of its core shipbuilding business, focusing on the marinization and integration of an existing capability rather than a directed energy system built in-house.",
  "summary": "This article is republished with permission from Laser Wars , a newsletter about military laser weapons and other futuristic defense technology. The U.S. Navy has awarded a modest contract to America’s largest shipbuilder for a new high-energy laser weapon for maritime operations. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and defense contractor EO Solutions—not to be confused with Australian laser…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}