High Energy Laser Development

Abstract

This program supports the Department's initiatives to Defend the Homeland, Deter Aggression and Prevail in Conflict, and Build Sustainable and Long-Term Advantage. This program funds Department of Defense Directed Energy applied research through the Joint Directed Energy Transition Office. This program is part of an overall Department of Defense Directed Energy Science and Technology program. DE weapons systems have many potential advantages, including speed-of-light time-to-target, high precision, low incremental cost per kill, and a magazine that is recharged through on-board, fuel-based power and thermal management systems that reduce logistics requirements in contrast to stocks of munitions or warheads. Directed Energy weapon systems have the potential to perform a wide variety of military missions, including high value asset and base protection, precision strike and platform self-protection versus a wide variety of missile, rocket, artillery, mortar and air platforms. Efforts under this program are generally chosen for their potential to have an impact on multiple Directed Energy weapon systems and multiple Service missions while complementing Service efforts that are directed for specific service needs. A broad range of technologies are addressed in key areas, such as laser sources, microwave sources, laser beam control, antennas, waveguides, modeling and simulation, and lethality mechanisms. This program provides the enabling technology necessary to demonstrate advanced concepts for high power microwave (HPM) sources, antennas and waveguides for mission areas not considered to date. The high power microwave lethality, hardware and software improvements and modeling and simulation advances provided by this program are essential to expand and build upon current architectures. Efforts in this program have been coordinated through the Department of Defense Science and Technology Executive Committee process to harmonize efforts and eliminate duplication. This program is in Budget Activity 2, Applied Research, because this budget activity includes studies, investigations, and non-system specific technology efforts directed toward general military needs with a view toward developing and evaluating the feasibility and practicality of proposed solutions and determining their parameters.

Document Details

• Document Type: R2 Budgetary Justification
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2023
• Source ID: 0602890D8Z_2_0400_PB_2023
• Change Summary Explanation: FY 2023 funding increase reflects the fact that the FY 2022 President’s Budget request did not include out-year funding.
• Service Agency Name: Office of the Secretary Of Defense

Entities

Organizations

• Office of the Secretary of Defense

Tags

Communities of Interest

• Energy and Power Technologies
• Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

• Aerospace Environments
• Control Systems
• Department Of Defense
• Directed Energy Weapons
• Field Tests
• Fire Control Systems
• High Energy
• High Energy Lasers
• High Power Microwaves
• High Reliability
• Laser Beams
• Laser Weapons
• Lasers
• Materials
• Predictive Modeling
• Test And Evaluation
• Weapon Systems

Readers

• Military Science and Technology Research and Modernization.

Technology Areas

• Directed Energy