Tag Archives: directed energy

A Raytheon Technologies business has received a $15.5 million contract from the U.S. Air Force Lifecycle Management Center to provide a modified version of the company's high-energy laser weapon system. Raytheon Intelligence and Space said Wednesday it secured the award through the System of Systems Consortium and will supply HELWS to AFLCMC, which will then evaluate the weapon's potential to help air bases target threats such as unmanned aerial vehicles.

A test group from the U.S. Air Force has been working on a new directed energy weapon developed by Raytheon Technologies' intelligence and space business to deter enemy unmanned aircraft systems. The 704th Test Group started testing the High Energy Laser Weapon System 2 or H2 under an experimentation program that began in spring 2020, USAF said Wednesday.

The U.S. Army is seeking white papers on approaches to design, integrate and prototype high-energy lasers for potential use in deterring small unmanned aircraft systems. A broad agency announcement released Wednesday says the project will focus on the integration of a government-owned HEL subsystem, a sensor suite and a power technology to build a counter-sUAS platform.

Lockheed Martin has delivered to the U.S. Navy a high-energy laser weapon built for integration into an operational Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer.

A KBR subsidiary is continuing integration activities for the U.S. Army's Mobile Experimental High Energy Laser weapon at the company's new facility in Huntsville, Alabama ahead of prototype deliveries scheduled for fiscal year 2022.

Two Lockheed Martin officials said the company is working with U.S. military branches to develop directed energy systems to help defend military platforms and troops against various threats, National Defense Magazine reported Monday.

The Air Force Research Laboratory has indicated its intent to award Raytheon Technologies a sole-source contract to demonstrate a weapon system for defending military facilities against drone threats. The company would demonstrate a prototype of the Counter Electronic Highpower Microwave Extended Air Base Air Defense system, AFRL said Thursday in a notice of contract action.

Raytheon Technologies has built and delivered another high-energy laser weapon system to the U.S. Air Force for use in the branch's upcoming experiments and training activities overseas. The company said Monday HELWS has completed a directed energy weapon evaluation process and been approved for initial operational employment.

Kratos Defense and Security Solutions has secured a three-year, $46M other transaction agreement to help the U.S. Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office develop a testing platform for directed energy weapons.

Leidos' Dynetics subsidiary will optimize the power of the U.S. Army's directed energy weapons from 100 kilowatts to 300 kilowatts as part of a modernization initiative.

The U.S. Army has awarded Applied Energetics a contract to develop a standoff electronic denial technology under the first phase of the service branch's Small Business Technology Transfer program.

General Motors' defense business plans to leverage the parent company's commercial research-and-development efforts to support its work in defense and aerospace areas, National Defense reported Thursday.

Joe Shepherd, a vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, has said that the Department of Defense's current acquisition methods tend to slow down the delivery of advanced technologies like directed energy weapons to warfighters.

Lockheed Martin has showcased a laser system designed to defeat rotary and fixed-wing unmanned aerial systems as part of a demonstration for the U.S. Air Force.

Northrop Grumman signed a contract with the U.S. Army to deliver a 50-kilowatt laser with solid-state fiber optic features designed to engage targets without the need for constant reloading, Military.com reported Wednesday.