The HLONS (

HMMWV The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...

Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

Ordnance Neutralization System), commonly known as ZEUS, is a

solid-state Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter. Solid state may also refer to: Electronics * Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials * Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their use ...

laser weapon A laser weapon is a directed-energy weapon based on lasers. After decades of R&D, directed-energy weapons including lasers are still at the experimental stage and it remains to be seen if or when they will be deployed as practical, high-perf ...

which is used by the

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

in order to neutralize surface

land mines A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

and unexploded ordnance. The ZEUS-HLONS system was a co-operative effort between Sparta Inc and NAVEODTECHDIV (Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division) to demonstrate that a moderate-power commercial

solid state laser A solid-state laser is a laser that uses a gain medium that is a solid, rather than a liquid as in dye lasers or a gas as in gas lasers. Semiconductor-based lasers are also in the solid state, but are generally considered as a separate class fr ...

(SSL) and beam control system could be integrated onto a

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...

(HMMWV) and used to clear surface mines,

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

s (IEDs), or unexploded ordnance from supply routes and minefields.

Features

ZEUS uses a 10 kW solid-state heat capacity (SSHC) laser beam to heat target ordnance to the point of causing the explosive filler to ignite and start to burn. Therefore, it does not depend on the type of fusing the specific ordnance uses. The resulting neutralization causes a low-level explosion that minimizes collateral damage. It has demonstrated the capability to engage targets from 25 to 300 meters away, as long as they are in line of sight. The Zeus system can be fired up to 2,000 times a day. The ZEUS-HLONS system offers a roll-on roll-off capability that is C-17 and

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

transportable. It is also helicopter sling certified.

History

Development

The two main people behind the project are Gerald Wilson (Directed Energy division of the U.S. Army

Space and Missile Defense Command The United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) of the United States Army. The command was established in 1997. The current USASMDC commander is Lieutenant General Daniel L. Karbler ...

(SMDC)) and Owen Hofer (U.S. engineering firm SPARTA), which designed and built the system. Prior to the ZEUS-HLONS system, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) personnel would have to approach such munitions (either manually, or by robotic platform), place an explosive charge near it, and then detonate the charge to destroy the munitions - something they still have to do until laser neutralizing systems are commonplace. Using ZEUS is cheaper (a few cents per laser shot) and safer than the traditional method. Lasers were theoretically evaluated for use in causing detonations of explosives in 1986 and laboratory demonstrations were done in 1987 with a 30 kW CO₂ laser. By 1991 demonstrations were done on landmines using a 0.3 kW Nd:YAG laser and 0.8 kW CO₂ laser. The concept of laser neutralization of ordnance was demonstrated in 1994 with the design, development and live field testing of the Mobile Ordnance Disrupter System (MODS). MODS used an M113A2 armored personnel carrier that supported an 1100 watt arc lamp-pumped laser system. The program was funded by the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...

(Florida). This was then moved to fitting the system into a Humvee. ZEUS is therefore the 2nd generation of this concept. Its development started in 1996 and was still undergoing upgrades and military demonstrations at the High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (HELSTF) at

White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National P ...

, New Mexico, in 2002 when it was requested to be deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

(in December 2002 by General John M. Keane, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army 1999-2003). In early 2004 the system was upgraded to a 1-kilowatt laser and then by late 2004 to a 2-kilowatt Yb:glass fibre-laser that is diode-pumped and operates in quasi-CW mode. This significantly reduced the overall system weight (removing about 2,000 pounds) and provided increased output beam power, which equates to extended range. In January 2005, at the IQPC's Directed Energy Weapons conference in London, Gerald Wilson said the system takes between 5 seconds and 4 minutes (typically 30 seconds) to destroy a mine, resulting in a clearance rate of up to 25 explosives per hour when equipped with a 0.5 kW laser.

Deployment

Over its test and deployment history, ZEUS has eliminated more than 1,600 ordnance items of 40 different types with more than a 98% success rate. In March 2003, ZEUS was deployed to Afghanistan for 6 months to demonstrate its counter-mine capabilities in a combat environment (

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

). It was used at

Bagram Air Base Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base , is located southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient Bagram at an elevation of above sea leve ...

and neutralized more than 200 munitions (including 51 in one 100 minute period) of 10 different types. At the time, the ZEUS-HLONS system was a 1/2 kilowatt laser. On March 16, 2005, ZEUS was deployed to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

to assist in explosive ordnance disposal activities there as part of a three-vehicle convoy protection concept. The Zeus laser was tested and used in Iraq along MSR Tampa by a team of EOD soldiers from the 319th Ord Co (EOD), Tacoma, Washington in February and March 2005. The HLONS(Zeus) was added into the Hunter/Killer Project in an attempt to integrate EOD and Engineer resources. The project illustrated the shortcomings of the system with Counter IED (C-IED) operations. Chief among the limitations of the system was the inability to penetrate concealment materials to heat the explosives inside the ordnance, and the tendency of non EOD personnel to utilize the HLONS on all ordnance even if doing so created a more dangerous situation. It has been used in Iraq by the U.S. military, in the first battlefield use of any laser weapon.

References

External links

SPARTA, Inc.NAVEODTECHDIV (Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division)High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (HELSTF)IQPC's Directed Energy Weapons conference 2005
(brief mention of Zeus, focuses on IED/Unexploded ordnance issues in Iraq) {{Solid-state laser Off-road vehicles Military trucks Directed-energy weapon of the United States Military lasers Solid-state lasers