AIM Defence's Fractl Portable High Energy Laser system has been trialed by the Australian Army during a series of tests in the Puckapunyal Military Area.
The Fractl Portable High Energy Laser is powerful enough to burn through steel and can track objects as small as a 10-cent piece travelling 100 kilometres an hour out to a kilometre away.
AIM Defence was awarded a $4.9 million contract in March to provide a system to Defence for test and evaluation.
At the Puckapunyal demonstration, the team 'hard killed' a drone at 500m with a deployable prototype.
The laser’s strength is limited by the power supply and AIM Defence has successfully engaged drones at 1km in past tests.
Directed-energy counter-UAS weapons’ effectiveness was pronounced during a side-by-side demonstration with armoured crews in the days before the showcase.
“[The armoured crews] consumed a lot of ammunition and were hitting the target at very close range. There was no margin for error,” Robotic and Autonomous Systems Implementation and Coordination Office's (RICO) Warrant Officer Class Two (WO2) Eli Lea said
“The lessons from Ukraine are that drones are a genuine problem and if we don't do anything about it, we’re going to get a rude awakening in the next fight," WO2 Lea added.