The laser is to be mounted on an eight-wheel-drive heavy truck. The Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) has been a workhorse of the US Army’s vehicle fleet since the 1980s.
The US Army is developing a truck-mounted laser weapon to destroy rockets, artillery shells and mortars.
Aerospace giant Boeing has been awarded a contract to start on the first phase of the project - designing a control system for the laser beam.
The solid state laser weapon would eventually be mounted on a 10-tonne, eight-wheel-drive tactical truck.
The American military has several programmes underway to develop battlefield lasers.
Under the Phase I contract, worth $7m (£3m), Boeing will develop a preliminary design for a “rugged beam control system” to be used on a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT).
The control system is needed to accurately point and focus a laser beam on an enemy target.
The objective of the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (HEL TD) programme is to demonstrate that a mobile, solid state laser can effectively counter rockets, shells and mortars.
The ABL consists of a high-energy, chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) mounted on a modified 747 freighter aircraft. It is designed to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles in their early boost phase, when they are most vulnerable.