The French Navy has shown a video of a successful test of the HELMA-P combat laser prototype against drones.
Tested in rainy and low cloud conditions, the drones were successfully hit by a laser beam.
The HELMA-P system has a radiation power of 2 kilowatts and was developed by CILAS and Ariane Group at the behest of the French Navy in 2017.
The tests shown in the video took place on July 7.
Following the results, French Defense Minister Florence Parly announced that the HELMA-P laser will be tested onboard a French Navy ship next year. The ship type that will be probably be equipped with the new HELMA-P laser weapon will be a French FREMM.
The FREMM (“European multi-purpose frigate” is a family of multi-purpose frigates designed by Fincantieri and Naval Group for the navies of Italy (10 frigates), France (8 frigates) and also for export. The lead ship of the class, Aquitaine, was commissioned in November 2012 by the French Navy. In France, the class is known as the Aquitaine class, while in Italy they are known as the Bergamini class. Italy has ordered six general-purpose variants and four anti-submarine variants. France has ordered six anti-submarine variants and two air-defence variants.
