Directed energy weapons: An overview

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Advancements in Directed Energy Systems has never moved beyond the theory of the laboratory in recent years, however, 2011 saw progression in these technologies and 2012 will no doubt see the first use of directed energy within the battlefield. This sees an important move for directed energy as it is now being prepared for the battlefield.

Primarily led by the U.S., this overview of the Directed Energy industry shows how armed forces across the world are utilising Directed Energy, including high power microwaves and non-lethal weapons and gives some insight into the future uses of this important technology.

Boeing and U.S. Department of Defense's High Energy Laser-Joint Technology Office (HEL-JTO) has joined forces to develop prototype high-power adaptive optics for high-energy laser weapons. Boeing has explained that adaptive optics can reduce distortion in a laser beam and increase the beam's energy on targets. Mike Rinn, vice president and program director at Boeing Directed Energy Systems, who will also be speaking at Directed Energy systems, said: “By minimising the distortion of a laser beam - much like telescopes can take the twinkle out of the stars - we can increase the amount of energy on a specific target.”

The Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (HI-MEMS) is a project of Pentagon's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) with the goal of developing machine-insect interfaces by placing micro-mechanical systems inside the insects during the early stages of metamorphosis. The primary application is surveillance and information gathering. HI-MEMS technologies will enable robotic capabilities at low cost, impacting the development of future autonomous defence systems.

The Office of Naval Research has started the development and implementation of the Maritime Laser Demonstration (MLD) Program. The program will develop a laser based “proof-of-concept” technology including the demonstration of a full system by the end of the decade which will meet survivability and self-defense capability requirements of U.S. Navy surface combatants for defeating various small boat threats. The system, which is currently under development, will utilise the DDG, CG, LSD, LPD, LHA, LHD, and FFG ship classes and will utilize advanced directed energy technologies based on solid state lasers, similar to those currently in wide industrial uses. In April 2011, the U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman successfully demonstrated high-energy, solid-state laser defences at sea by completing a "counter-material" test of the Maritime Laser Demonstrator (MLD) against small boats.

BAE Systems has received a contract valued at $2.8 million from the U.S. Navy to demonstrate a Tactical Laser System (TLS) that can be integrated with existing U.S. Navy gun mounts.

The TLS couples a solid-state high-energy laser with the weapons module to provide extremely precise targeting and counter-material disabling effects.

The system also provides the ability to deliver scalable effects by varying the level of laser energy required, depending on the target and mission objectives.

In February, Northrop Grumman joined other directed energy systems manufacturers for field tests at the Army's High Energy Laser System Test Facility (HELSTF). This laser will be integrated with the beam control and command and control systems from another Northrop Grumman-built system, the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL), to provide the Army with the world's first high-power, Solid State Laser Testbed Experiment (SSLTE).

In December 2011, Rheinmetall used a high energy laser to successfully down an unmanned aircraft in Switzerland. Additionally, at a show in Germany, the manufacturer successfully showed the operational potential of combining a powerful laser weapon with an air defence system.

A 10-kW laser was integrated into an air defence system consisting of an Oerlikon Skyguard 3 fire control unit and a Skyshield gun turret. Modular and scalable, the laser weapon itself consisted of two 5-kW laser weapon modules. In addition, a 1-kW laser weapon module was displayed, specially mounted on a TM 170-type vehicle for the purpose. Rheinmetall expects a high-energy laser weapon system with an output of 100 kW to be available within the next three to five years.

Sources: Defence Talk, BAE Systems, Boeing, Office of Naval Research

Contributor:   Samantha Tanner

Samantha Tanner specialises in defence and security technology at DefenceIQ.com. She holds a degree in journalism from Kingston University and has previous experience in public relations, social media and blog journalism.