General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) and Boeing have recently been awarded a U.S. Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) contract to develop a 300kW-class solid-state Distributed Gain High Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS). Delivery will be a 300 kW-class distributed gain laser with an integrated Boeing beam director.
“The high power, compact laser weapon subsystem prototype that GA-EMS will deliver under this contract will produce a lethal output greater than anything fielded to date,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “This technology represents a leap-ahead capability for air and missile defense that is necessary to support the Army’s modernization efforts and defeat next-generation threats in a multi-domain battlespace.”
The new high-power, compact laser weapon subsystem prototype will combine GA-EMS’ scalable Distributed Gain Laser technology with Boeing’s beam director and precision acquisition, tracking, and pointing software. The combination of both companies’ expertise in Directed Energy is expected to provide a complete demonstrator with sophisticated laser and beam control.
Dr. Michael Perry, vice president for lasers and advanced sensors at GA-EMS, described the laser as “a packaged version of the 7th Generation of our Distributed Gain Design already demonstrated. The laser system employs two Gen 7 laser heads in a very compact and lightweight package. Recent architectural improvements have enabled our single-beam D.G. Lasers to achieve comparable beam quality to fiber lasers in a very simple design without the need for beam combination.”
“This technology represents a leap-ahead capability for air and missile defense that is necessary to support the Army’s modernization efforts and defeat next-generation threats in a multi-domain battlespace,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS.