US Army to get 60kW laser
Lockheed Martin has completed the design, development and demonstration of a 60kW-class beam combined fibre laser for the US Army, the company announced on 16 March.
The Lockheed Martin laser produced a single beam of 58kW during its testing earlier in March 2017. The company is now readying to deliver it to the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command/army forces strategic command in Huntsville, Alabama.
Lockheed Martin's laser brings together individual lasers generated through fibre optics, to generate a single, intense laser beam. This allows for it to be scaled up in power by adding more fibre laser subunits. The laser is based on a design under the Department of Defense's Robust Electric Laser Initiative Programme, and further developed through investments by Lockheed Martin and the US Army into a 60kW-class system.
Robert Afzal, a senior fellow for Lockheed Martin's Laser and Sensor Systems, said: 'The inherent scalability of this beam combined laser system has allowed us to build the first 60kW-class fibre laser for the US Army. We have shown that a powerful directed energy laser is now sufficiently light-weight, low volume and reliable enough to be deployed on tactical vehicles for defensive applications on land, at sea and in the air.'
According to the company, the laser system has proved to be highly efficient in testing, capable of translating over 43% of the electricity that powered it directly into the actual laser beam it emitted.
More from Land Warfare
-
![Arquus and Milrem push their UGVs fitted with long-range missiles]()
Arquus and Milrem push their UGVs fitted with long-range missiles
Arquus displayed the Drailer uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV) integrating the Akeron LP long-range missile at the Techterre technology demonstrator event ahead of trials in September.
-
![Czech CAESAR howitzer order at risk of cancellation]()
Czech CAESAR howitzer order at risk of cancellation
The Czech Republic ordered 52 CAmion Equipé d’un Système d’ARtillerie (CAESAR) self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) in 2021 and added another 10 a year later. A cancellation of the programme would impact both the army’s capabilities and local industry which is involved in the manufacture.
-
![Sweden turns to Nammo and Rheinmetall as world demand grows for 155mm shells]()
Sweden turns to Nammo and Rheinmetall as world demand grows for 155mm shells
Demand for ammunition continues to increase with manufacturing capability growing to match. Sweden have turned to the two supply lines of Rheinmetall and Nammo as part of a Nordic effort to meet demand. The Polish Government has also announced a US$700 million investment to boost manufacture of munitions.
-
![Malaysia signs for two additional GM400α air surveillance radars]()
Malaysia signs for two additional GM400α air surveillance radars
The order is in addition to two systems ordered in 2023. It forms part of a family of systems which is becoming widely used and part of a growing demand for the capability, both in deliveries and requirements.
-
![US Army’s Precision Strike Missile moves into production phase after test successes]()
US Army’s Precision Strike Missile moves into production phase after test successes
Lockheed Martin’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) is a next-generation surface-to-surface missile system and is a planned replanned replacement for MGM-140 Army Tactical Missiles System (ATACMS). It is to be fired from M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers.
