Unleash Hellhound! Northrop Grumman boasts new military buggy has laser weapons 'we would once only see in Star Trek'

* Six seater buggy is 'laser ready' for next generation weapons
* The 5,897 kg (6.5-ton) Hellhound can carry six including the driver
* Is able to produce enough power to run a field hospital or command centre
* Will come with optional integrated 10-kilowatt solid-state fiber laser

It could be the ultimate offroader - and take soldiers into battle like never before.

Northrop Grumman has revealed the ultimate buggy -  a six seater that boasts its own laser weapon.

Called the Hellhound, it was revealed at the  the Association of the US Army's annual conference in Washington, DC.

Northrop Grumman says it plans to integrate a 10-kilowatt solid-state fiber laser into the tactical dune buggy.

The 5,897 kg (6.5-ton) Hellhound can carry six people, including the driver.

It is designed to fulfill the US Army's potential light reconnaissance vehicle programme and will compete against other designs for the lucrative contract.

The 5,897 kg (6.5-ton) Hellhound can carry six including the driver.

It is able to generate 100 kVA of exportable power, which is particularly high for a vehicle of its size, with a 120 kW Jenoptik integrated starter generator, with officials boasting it could 'power the entire hall' it was launched in.

In a disaster scenario, the Hellhound could power a blacked-out hospital or a command post.

Although the version shown off has a more traditional weapon, the firm says it is 'laser ready'  and plans to integrate a 10-kilowatt solid-state fiber laser into the tactical dune buggy.

 Northrop is using a modular energy system in the vehicle from German company JENOPTIK, which produces systems capable of generating 100 kilowatts of 'exportable, stable power,' Jeff Wood,

Northrop's director of vehicle modernization, said, according to Defence News.

'There’s never been that much power on a vehicle this small,' he said.

Inside the Hellhound: The vehicle has room for six people, including the driver.

In a disaster scenario, he said, the Hellhound could power a blacked-out hospital; in a war zone, it could power a command post.

Or, Wood said, you could power a laser beam.

'To jump to 100 kilowatts opens new opportunities that we are beginning to explore,' he said, such as 'directed energy weapons that we would once only see in Star Trek are now quite possible.'

The power will 'open new opportunities in powering expeditionary command post or key infrastructure as part of disaster response teams,' Wood said.

Several firms have working laser weapons, and Lockheed Martin recently showed off its laser weapon.

The 30-kilowatt fibre laser called Athena burnt through the manifold in seconds, despite being fired by a team from Lockheed Martin positioned more than a mile away.

The security firm said the test signifies the next step to fitting lightweight laser weapons on military aircraft, helicopters, ships and trucks.

The demonstration was the first field testing of Lockheed’s integrated 30-kilowatt, single-mode fibre laser weapon system prototype.

‘Fiber-optic lasers are revolutionising directed energy systems,’ said Keoki Jackson, Lockheed Martin chief technology officer.

‘We are investing in every component of the system - from the optics and beam control to the laser itself - to drive size, weight and power efficiencies.

‘This test represents the next step to providing lightweight and rugged laser weapon systems for military aircraft, helicopters, ships and trucks.’

By using a technique known as spectral beam combining, the system blends multiple laser modules to create a single, powerful, high-quality beam.

This is said to provide greater ‘efficiency and lethality’ than multiple individual 10-kilowatt lasers used in other systems.

Athena is based on the firm’s Area Defense Anti-Munitions (Adam) laser weapon system.

The laser, known as Athena, was built by Maryland-based security firm Lockheed Martin. During the test, the 30-kilowattfibre laser burnt through the truck’s engine (pictured) and disabled it from more a mile away

In tests off the California coast in May, Adam was used to successfully disable two boats at a range of approximately one mile (1.6km).

Lockheed Martin said at the time that it developed the ground-based system ‘to demonstrate a practical, affordable defence against short-range threats.’

During the marine the high-energy laser burnt through multiple compartments of the rubber hull of the military-grade small boats in less than 30 seconds.