Excalibur
Abstract
The Excalibur program will develop high-power electronically-steerable optical arrays, with each array element powered by a fiber laser amplifier. These fiber-laser arrays will be sufficiently lightweight, compact, and electrically efficient to be fielded on a variety of platforms with minimal impact on the platform's original mission capabilities. Each array element will possess an adaptive-optic capability to minimize beam divergence in the presence of atmospheric turbulence, together with wide-field-of-view beam steering for target tracking. With each Excalibur array element powered by high power fiber laser amplifiers (at up to 3 kilowatts (kW) per amplifier), high power air-to-air and air-to-ground engagements will be enabled that were previously infeasible because of laser system size and weight. In addition, this program will also develop kilowatt-class arrays of diode lasers which will provide an alternate route to efficiently reaching mission-relevant power levels, and they will test the ultimate scalability of the optical phased array architecture. Excalibur arrays will be conformal to aircraft surfaces and scalable in size and power by adding additional elements to the array. Excalibur will provide the technology foundation for the defense of next generation airborne platforms, including all aircraft flying at altitudes below 50,000 ft, and against proliferated, deployed, and next-generation man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) and more capable air-to-air missiles converted for use as ground-to-air missiles. Excalibur will enable these platforms to fly at lower altitudes and conduct truly persistent, all-weather ground missions, such as reconnaissance despite low-lying cloud cover. Further capabilities may include: multichannel laser communications, target identification, tracking, designation, precision defeat with minimal collateral effects as well as other applications. The Excalibur Budget Activity 2 program will develop the core set of laser components for efficiently driving elements of high-power electronically steerable optical arrays, namely: high-power coherently- and spectrally-combinable fiber laser amplifiers, high-brightness laser diodes for efficiently pumping the fiber laser amplifiers, and kW-class single-mode laser diode arrays. In addition, advanced techniques (packaging, thermal and power management, beam control, target tracking, etc.) will be developed for light-weight, high power fiber-laser based and podded High Energy Laser Countermeasure (HELCM) systems enabling near-term options for low-altitude aircraft self-defense against MANPADS. The vulnerabilities of MANPADS and other surface-to-air missiles, as well as their potential to incorporate counter-countermeasures to HELCM systems will also be measured and assessed. These techniques and measurements will be designed to work in tandem with, and to support, the HELCM prototype subsystems developed under the Budget Activity 3 Excalibur program in PE 0603739E, Project MT-15. The Excalibur Budget Activity 2 program will also conduct several analytical studies relevant to scaling and applications of high-efficiency (30% - 40% wall plug efficient) high power electric lasers that will examine: the potential to scale the output power of diode pumped alkali lasers (DPALs) to tactical and strategic levels (100's kW - MW class); the potential for integrating low-cost, high-sensitivity, wide-field-of-view imaging seekers and directional acoustic cueing into locating extended-altitude MANPADS; and the potential to use high power fiber lasers for long range target identification and tracking.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2014
- Source ID
- 09a2a03824b16bcf74cae9718a627b96
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- Root: TACTICAL TECHNOLOGY