Develop an Infrared (IR) optical system capable of defeating USMC-specified threats that are highly
Abstract
The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) directs operations from forward deployed locations worldwide and throughout the ten Geographic Commands,. Counter-threat system operations are conducted in, from, and through all domains, across all phases of operations and environments,. The USMC is adapting its power-projection and defense concepts to operate under a greater threat of attack. The specific mix of se,nsors, non-kinetic, and kinetic systems will vary depending on the political geography of the region, adversary capabilities, and U.,S. objectives. The USMC is seeking counter- threat systems with the ability to be integrated with multiple sensors and weapons syste,ms to Find, Fix, Track, Target, Engage, and Assess (F2T2EA) a spectrum of threats, from small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to cru,ise missiles.Applied Energetics (AE) proposes to develop an Infrared (IR) optical system capable of defeating USMC-specified threats, that are highly mobile, may be present in large numbers, and require minimal operator interaction due to expected rapid target acqu,isition, identification, and engagement timelines. Our proposed solution is to provide the USMC a rapid, sub-second, counter-threa,t capability using USP laser sources that generate high peak optical powers to neutralize or destroy the threats sensors and/or C4I,SR functions.To develop this counter-threat capability, the optical system will require specialized pulse formatting, wavelength sel,ectivity, pulse energies and average powers that are tailored to USMC- specified target effects. The combination of these system att,ributes will significantly increase USMC effectiveness against the objective target sets and potentially other significant adjunct t,hreat systems to counter electro-optics (C-EO), sensors, snipers, and explosives. The system also must operate in difficult environm,ental conditions while remaining compliant to mobile platform limitations. Thus, the short pulse width, high repetition rates, and f,iber-based designs of USP lasers can lead to significant reductions in Size, Weight, and Power Cooling (SWaP-C) that will in turn,facilitate the improvement of the effectiveness of a layered defense through the integration of counter-threat systems on USMC vehic,les.AE proposes to combine the USP laser-driven RF and optical sensor defeat mechanisms of the aforementioned DE counter-threat appr,oaches into a single compact optical system allowing for maximum effectiveness including sub-second ranges. The system will be based, upon a unique USP optical source architecture and gain processes capable of generating terawatt (TW) peak powers and operating in t,he MWIR and LWIR spectral regions. An enabling element of this approach is to use the nonlinear optical process of self- focusing in, the atmosphere of TW class optical pulses to achieve ablating and ionizing optical intensities beyond the normal linear propagation, diffraction limits at the multi-km range.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 08, 2022
- Source ID
- N000142212386
Entities
People
- Stephen Mccahon
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy