Directed Energy Test
Abstract
The DET project continued efforts to measure HEL energy on small targets such as mortars, rockets, artillery, and UAS. The effort designed a recoverable mortar prototype to address Army and Navy requirements and an Air Force requirement for a missile-mounted target board. The DET project continued efforts to develop M&S capability for assessing effects of threat HEL systems on blue aircraft. The DET project continued to mature a dense plasma focus technology to produce strategically relevant, ultra-short pulse neutron fluence levels for nuclear vulnerability testing. The DET project successfully demonstrated neutron production and dense plasma focus technology development continues to be optimized to support neutron production rates scalable to a test facility to be developed by the Central Test and Evaluation Investment Program (CTEIP). A larger chamber was integrated into the facility to test obtaining higher yields. The DET project initiated efforts to support testing of an HPM system integrated with a munition. The DET project initiated new developments in HPM envelope detection. A prototype vertical sensor net array was demonstrated with 4 prototype nodes. The prototype nodes achieved ‘first light’ at the High Energy Microwave Laboratory (HEML) facility at Kirtland AFB after being exposed to L-band radiation. This prototype sensor array provides rapid/field expedient diagnostic of a High Power Microwave beam in the far field. In 2020 DET demonstrated a neutron fluence that meets the entry criteria for the building of a larger reactor using DT fusion. DET developed HPM sensors that allow characterization of the beam profile of the HPM system. DET initiated HPM UAS targets for dynamic tests of HPM systems against threat relevant UAS targets. DET initiated an atmospheric modelling project that will correlate weather data to HEL propagation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2022
- Source ID
- d0f1f560365940aef7d9e28353f4b486