Weapons Technology
Abstract
Through FY 2018, the Weapons Technology PE developed and tested a high-powered directed energy laser to build the foundation of the next-generation laser system on a high altitude unmanned airborne platform. The Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) High Energy Laser (HEL) investment incrementally develops scalable, efficient, and compact HEL technology in the laboratory before beginning a high power laser flight test program. The technology required for tracking the target, aiming the laser, and building flight demonstrators is being developed under the TMI PE (0604115C). In FY 2019, this PE provides the Hypersonic Defense Weapon Systems Concept Definition efforts to enable the Warfighter to counter the growing global hypersonic threat. The concept architectures must provide a kill chain that is highly maneuverable and agile, yet able to engage the hypersonic threats at much greater ranges during the threat's glide phase. The Phase I Concept Definition effort will contract with twenty-one industry partners to start development of weapon systems concept architectures through a multi-phased approach to provide a near term capability to defeat hypersonic glide vehicles. For FY 2020, MDA in coordination with the United States Air Force (USAF) is developing engineering and test requirements to support joint USAF/MDA program oversight and verification of a USAF system under development to provide a missile defense capability. Additional details on the USAF system are available at higher classification levels.
Document Details
- Document Type
- R2 Budgetary Justification
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2020
- Source ID
- 0603178C_3_0400_PB_2020
- Change Summary Explanation
- Increase in FY 2018 from PB19 to PB20 reflects the enacted congressional adjustment of $20.000 million and an increase of $4.000 million for directed energy. Increase in FY 2019 from PB19 to PB20 reflects the enacted congressional adjustment of $13.400 million for the acceleration of Hypersonic Defense. Increase in FY 2020 from PB19 to PB20 provides MDA joint efforts with the USAF to develop engineering and test requirements to support program oversight and verification of a USAF system under development to provide a missile defense capability.
- Service Agency Name
- Missile Defense Agency
Entities
Organizations
- Missile Defense Agency
Related Documents
- Child Project: Directed Energy Research
- Child Accomplishment: Directed Energy Research
- Child Project: Interceptor Technology
- Child Accomplishment: Hypersonic Defense Weapon Systems Concept Definition
- Child Accomplishment: USAF/MDA Missile Defense Capability