Lasers can be installed on existing platforms, although allowances need to be made for power and cooling. The new modular LCS has the room, and the new DDG 1000, with its integrated propulsion system, has the power margin. “If you have the right interface, with an open architecture you can address a wide range of customer missions,” said Afzal. “The flexibility that’s fundamental to the architecture of LCS immediately comes to the front. All we need to know are the interfaces, and we plug it in.”
Afzal envisions going to applications in the hundreds of kilowatts. “That gets us into the much more hard-target kinds of applications in terms of self-defense and area defense from the significant platforms like cruisers and destroyers.”
“By building fiber laser modules as building blocks, putting them together with our spectral beam combination, and using a common architecture, we can field different levels of laser power and provide variable effects.” Afzal said.
A 200-watt laser used for industrial applications today is 10 times smaller than five years ago. The net result is tactical systems for scalable self-defense from non-lethal to full lethality that can fit on smaller, mobile platforms.
Lockheed Martin ATHENA laser weapon system defeats a truck target by disabling the engine, demonstrating its military effectiveness against enemy ground vehicles. Photo: Lockheed Martin
Afzal envisions going to applications in the hundreds of kilowatts. “That gets us into the much more hard-target kinds of applications in terms of self-defense and area defense from the significant platforms like cruisers and destroyers. So we are studying just how far we can push this technology into the most difficult target domains.”
Tactical laser systems can be aimed and locked on before turning on the full weapon effect. “A camera is looking at that spot to decide precisely where we want to have the effect. Then you go with the full laser power, so there’s no ‘oops, we fired in the wrong direction,’” said Afzal.
Because lasers are so precise – “We’re talking centimeter-class of precision,” said Afzal – the risk of collateral damage is reduced.
Speed-of-light defense
Northrop Grumman Corporation’s laser legacy dates back to its heritage with TRW. According to Steve Hixson, Northrop Grumman’s vice president for directed energy, the company’s focus was originally on chemical lasers and more recently is building solid state lasers, such as the Maritime Laser Demonstrator (MLD) in 2011 for the Navy.