Lockheed Martin has handed over a new tactical electric 300kW-class laser to support the US Department of Defense’s (DoD) demonstration efforts.
The laser was delivered to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering [OUSD (R&E)] ahead of schedule.
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As part of the High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative (HELSI), the OUSD (R&E) in 2019 had contracted Lockheed Martin to upgrade its spectral beam combined high energy laser architecture to the 300kW-class level.
Lockheed Martin Advanced Product Solutions vice-president Rick Cordaro said: “Lockheed Martin increased the power and efficiency and reduced the weight and volume of continuous-wave high energy lasers, which reduces risk for future fielding efforts of high-power laser weapon systems.”
The company noted that the 300kW-class, high-energy laser development was a result of major investments in directed energy technology.
According to Lockheed Martin, the laser integration will also support DoD demonstration efforts with the Indirect Fires Protection Capability-High Energy Laser (IFPC-HEL) Demonstrator laser weapon system.
The US Army’s IFPC-HEL will undergo laboratory and field testing this year. It has been developed to safeguard fixed and semi-fixed sites from threats such as rockets, artillery, and mortars, and fixed, rotary wing, and uncrewed aerial systems.
The company’s team in US locations Owego, New York, and Washington helped build its HEL technology.
In February this year, Lockheed Martin partnered with Microsoft to advance 5G.MIL technologies and support secure connectivity across US DoD systems, covering various domains.
