As reported on Friday, February 6, 2026, by the Reuters, during Singapore Airshow 2026 (scheduled for February 2–8), the Australian company Electro Optic Systems (EOS) announced the opening of a production hub in Singapore for its latest 100-kilowatt high-energy laser weapon system, Apollo, classified as a HELW (High Energy Laser Weapon).
Image and photo: EOS
The facility will serve as an Asian center for the production, integration, and testing of high-energy counter-drone laser systems, initially focusing on the Apollo system. It was announced that the first customers will be clients from the Netherlands (see below) and the South Korea (under an 80 million USD contract signed in December 2025).
“This addresses the urgent need for cost-effective counter-drone defense solutions,” said EOS CEO Andreas Schwer in remarks delivered during the inauguration event of the production hub in Singapore.
He added that the system has achieved a cost per shot of less than $10, compared to hundreds of thousands of dollars for missile interceptors.
The project is expected to be implemented as part of the layered air defense system of the Koninklijke Landmacht in 2027 or 2028, subject to the completion of negotiations. In August 2025, the company secured its first export contract for a 100-kilowatt-class laser weapon when the government in The Hague purchased the system for 71 million EUR (85 million USD). On September 8 of the same year, it was announced that the system had been given the manufacturer’s name Apollo, which, according to the company, symbolizes light, vision, and protection.
Schwer added that the company is in talks with other customers and expects to sign additional agreements in 2026.
The Singapore hub is also intended as a model for future facilities that EOS hopes to establish as part of efforts to localize production and transfer technology to countries where its customers are based. Representatives from 32 countries attended the inauguration, including the European Union, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
On January 30 of this year, Andreas Schwer told Reuters that the company is highly likely to relocate its headquarters from Australia (Symonston, Canberra) to Europe.
According to Electro Optic Systems (EOS), the Apollo system’s output power can be scaled from 100 kW to between 50 and 150 kW, depending on customer requirements. The system is capable of burning through unmanned aerial vehicles at distances of up to 3 km and blinding their electro-optical sensors at distances of up to 15 km. During live-fire testing, the system’s response time ranged from 700 milliseconds to 1.5 seconds.
It is designed to defend against micro and medium-sized drones weighing up to 600 kg (classified as Groups 1–3 under U.S. Department of Defense nomenclature). The system is expected to be capable of destroying more than 20 small drones weighing under 9 kg per minute.
The system is housed in a standard 20-foot ISO container. All Apollo technologies are free from U.S. ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) restrictions, and the laser can be integrated with NATO-class C2 command-and-control systems. The first prototype demonstrations were conducted in Australia in 2022.
See also:
- Laser joint venture between Rheinmetall AG and MBDA
- The United Kingdom orders serial DragonFire laser-weapon systems
- Rafael & Israel MOD: Iron Beam 450 development completed, delivery to IDF soon
- Turkey: Test of the Aselsan Gökberk Air Defense Laser Weapon System
