The Army’s Chevy Colorado-based Infantry Squad Vehicle is getting a laser

By Miguel Ortiz

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A green military off-road vehicle with large rugged tires is driving through a forested area with dry grass and trees. The vehicle has an open frame design and is carrying several soldiers in camouflage uniforms and gear, with additional equipment strapped to the roof. The headlights and amber lights on the front are on, and the vehicle appears to be wet, possibly from rain.
The ISV can carry nine soldiers and all of their gear (U.S. Army)

In June 2020, the Army selected GM’s submission for the Infantry Squad Vehicle. Based heavily on the commercially-available Chevrolet Colorado truck, the ISV features 70% off-the-shelf components. Despite this, the ISV is proving to be effective in Army evaluations, including being dropped from planes. Able to carry nine soldiers and their associated gear, the ISV is getting another capability from the Army: a laser.

The Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser program aims to provide Infantry Brigade Combat Teams with anti-drone capabilities. Lt. Gen. Neil Thurgood, director of the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, publicly announced the approval of the AMP-HEL prototype development. “We got that mission approved a week ago or so and we have to deliver that in FY23,” he said at the Space and Missile Defense symposium in Huntsville, Alabama on August 10, 2022.

As technology improves, laser weapons are becoming more common in the military. USS Portland engages a surface training target with a solid state laser (U.S. Marine Corps photo)

The AMP-HEL uses a 20kW laser capable of Group 1 and Group 2-sized drones like the RQ-11 Raven and the MQ-27 ScanEagle, respectively. However, Group 3 drones like the RQ-7 Shadow and enemy munitions are beyond the scope of capability of the AMP-HEL. “You don’t have enough time. The mortar round hits you before you can kill it,” Lt. Gen. Thurgood noted. “You might get some of them. But it’s focused on the counter-UAS mission.”

Soldiers in camouflage uniforms are positioned around and behind two military tactical vehicles on a sandy terrain near a wooded area. One soldier is lying prone and firing a rifle, with visible muzzle flash, while another soldier is crouched and aiming a rifle. The vehicles are equipped with large off-road tires, roof racks carrying gear, and coils of barbed wire on the hoods. The scene appears to be a military training or combat exercise.
The 82nd Airborne Division is conducting the Initial Operational Test of the ISV (U.S. Army)

In addition to the AMP-HEL, the Army is working on the Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense program. It aims to equip Stryker armored vehicles with 50kW lasers. More powerful and directed by a more sophisticated system, DE M-SHORAD is designed to engage up to Group 3 drones as well as rotary-wing aircraft, rockets, artillery, and mortars.

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Miguel Ortiz

Senior Contributor, US Army Veteran

Miguel Ortiz graduated from San Diego State University and commissioned as an Army Officer in 2017. His passion for military culture and history led him to freelance writing. He specializes in interesting and obscure military history. When he’s not writing, Miguel enjoys traveling and watch collecting.

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