The Army’s first high energy laser production agreement went to one company: AeroVironment. On Sept. 2, 2026, the Army announced an other-transaction agreement for the Enduring High Energy Laser (E-HEL) program. On Nov. 2, Leonardo DRS announced that AeroVironment selected it as a subcontractor. The $464.8 million is AeroVironment’s announced award value, and no Leonardo DRS value is public. The award matters to suppliers who sell power, thermal, integration, sensor or service content into a laser program.
Status: Stage 9, production award to the prime only; the DRS subcontract is a private selection with no public instrument · Funding: $464.8M is AeroVironment’s announced value, obligated amount and ceiling not stated · Confidence: high on the Army record, moderate on DRS’s scope because it is a company statement
What the official record says
The Army’s Sept. 2, 2026 release announces “the award to AeroVironment, Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico, of an other-transaction-agreement for production” under E-HEL, and calls it the Army’s first production contract for a high energy laser weapon system. The release lists no dollar figure, quantity or subcontractor.
The Army describes a modular open systems design with 11 major interfaces, and says E-HEL “is not locked into a single platform or vehicle.”
The $464.8 million, the “dozens” of LOCUST X3 systems over “the next few years,” and the “ongoing system support and training” come from AeroVironment’s own release of the same day. Those are the company’s statements about its own award, not Army figures. Its headline rounds the value to “nearly $500 million”; use the exact figure.
Is Leonardo DRS an Army E-HEL awardee?
No. The Army’s release names only AeroVironment. Leonardo DRS says AeroVironment selected it for power and thermal management and vehicle integration, and describes joint work with AeroVironment in 2024 and 2025. How much is Leonardo DRS’s E-HEL subcontract worth? Leonardo DRS has disclosed no value, agreement type or date for it.
What this means for contractors
The facts: the Army awarded one agreement to one company. Every subcontract under that agreement is the prime’s commercial decision.
GovCon IC analysis: I take the DRS selection as proof that the power, thermal and integration slots exist and are separable, because the Army’s open design treats them that way. I do not take it as an Army opportunity. For a specific subcontract, no federal buyer, vehicle or value is public, so it is not yet a validated federal contracting opportunity. Any subcontract approach goes through AeroVironment. The full analysis of how AeroVironment selected Leonardo DRS for the E-HEL production deal covers the subcontract structure and the competitive landscape in depth.
Can a supplier bid on high energy laser subsystem work?
The Army’s release points to no solicitation for subsystem work, so the approach is a commercial one, made to AeroVironment. GovCon IC analysis, by reader:
- Power, battery and thermal suppliers: DRS has a stated scope here. Position for content that scope does not cover.
- Sensor and fire-control suppliers: document how your interface fits the Army’s 11-interface design.
- Field service and training firms: AeroVironment says it will provide system support and training, so any service work comes through its team.
- Platform integrators: AeroVironment names the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle as an integration platform and says it is analyzing the Infantry Squad Vehicle.
What to do next
- Send AeroVironment a one-page capability sheet with size, weight, power and vehicle-qualification data for a 30-kilowatt class laser.
- Tell your teaming partners whether you compete with DRS’s stated scope or complement it.
- Track the next Army announcement on E-HEL for a second lot or modification, because that event would show whether the Army adds scope.
What is still unknown
Leonardo DRS’s subcontract value, agreement type and date are not public; a company or Army disclosure would resolve them. The agreement’s ceiling and obligated amount are also not stated; an Army modification notice or contract record would show them. AeroVironment has not said who else it will buy from.
Official sources
- U.S. Army, “Army awards production contract for Enduring-High Energy Laser System,” Sept. 2, 2026: the OTA award to AeroVironment, the open-architecture design, no dollar figure or subcontractor named
Company statements used as attributed statements only, not linked: AeroVironment’s Sept. 2, 2026 release and Leonardo DRS’s Nov. 2, 2026 announcement.
Last verified: 2026-11-05
