Directed Energy Maturity for Airborne Self Defense Applications (Abstract)

Abstract

Recent advances in Directed Energy (DE) technologies indicate that their implementation on large airborne platforms may be possible in the near term. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has expressed strong interest in two particular DE capabilities for implementation on the AC-130 gunship: high energy lasers (HEL) and Active Denial Systems (ADS). However, previous US Air Force efforts to field DE systems have been met with challenges such as platform integration and lack of effectiveness. Therefore, Air Force leadership tasked the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to conduct a study to assess the "Directed Energy Maturity for Airborne Self Defense Applications (DEA)." This study is commissioned to determine AFSOC operations (both defensive and offensive) that may benefit from DE technologies, to identify potential DE systems that are mature enough to meet the requirements of the missions, and to establish whether the DE systems can be for integration into the AC-130 for operational use. The report presents the major findings and recommendations from the study.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 10, 2017
Accession Number
AD1149801

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Active Denial System
  • Air Force
  • Airborne
  • Demonstrations
  • Directed Energy Weapons
  • Energy
  • Ground Based
  • High Energy
  • High Energy Lasers
  • Infrastructure
  • Lasers
  • Leadership
  • Platforms
  • United States Special Operations Command
  • Weapon Systems
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Defense Technology Research and Development.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy