AeroVironment has secured a $405m international contract to supply its LOCUST X3 high-energy laser weapon systems for countering uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) in the Middle East.
The company announced the direct commercial sales order on 11 November, noting it will support regional partners facing an increasing threat of drone attacks.
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The new award comes as Middle Eastern states grapple with a rise in low-cost, increasingly sophisticated drones that have targeted energy facilities, airports, and critical infrastructure.
AeroVironment cited the operational use of Shahed-series one-way attack drones as a clear example of the region’s evolving security challenges.
Such systems can be deployed in swarms, making them difficult and costly to intercept using traditional air-defence methods.
AeroVironment chairman, president and chief executive officer Wahid Nawabi said: “Our customers need proven defences they can field rapidly and sustain over time. This landmark award reflects growing recognition that directed energy is essential to modern layered air defence.
“LOCUST X3 changes the economics of defeating drones while preserving traditional interceptors for higher-end threats.”
The LOCUST X3 system, the third-generation version of AeroVironment’s high-energy laser weapon system, was released in March this year.
According to the company, the system is designed to counter Group 1 to 3 uncrewed aircraft systems, which include small, commercial off-the-shelf drones up to larger military-grade UAVs.
LOCUST can be integrated with radar, command-and-control and kinetic systems, adding a lower-cost engagement option to layered air-defence networks facing sustained or large-scale drone attacks.
Unlike missile-based interceptors, the laser system can engage multiple targets without ammunition resupply, with its ability limited primarily by available power and cooling.
This approach is intended to help militaries reduce logistical burdens and preserve more expensive missile interceptors for larger threats.
To support operational readiness, AeroVironment plans to establish an in-country maintenance and sustainment depot.
The facility will provide local repair, technical support, and lifecycle services, the company said, aiming to enhance regional partners’ capabilities and system availability as threat environments evolve.
The announcement follows AeroVironment’s disclosure in September that it had received its first international purchase order for the LOCUST laser weapon system.
