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, component and subsystem design and development to further the knowledge base of Directed Energy technologies and enable future defense capabilities to be realized by the Services.

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Document Details

Document Type
R2 Budgetary Justification
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2024
Source ID
0602890D8Z_2_0400_PB_2024
Change Summary Explanation
FY 2024 decrease to support higher DoD priorities.
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
  • Kinetic Weapons

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
  • Hypersonic Missiles
  • Laser Beams
  • Laser Weapons
  • Lasers
  • Materials
  • Predictive Modeling
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Weapon Systems

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Military Science and Technology Research and Modernization.
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy

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