The Army is sequencing tests of directed-energy technologies up towards a 100 kW laser by 2022 for fixed and rotor wing targets, the head of Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command said Tuesday.
Lt. Gen. James Dickinson highlighted directed energy/lasers as an important research effort for his command at an Association of the United States Army (AUSA) breakfast event.
Laser weapons have the potential to be low-cost, effective complements to kinetic energy options, he said. Specifically, the Army has participated in a maneuver fires integration experiment using a Stryker-based experimental high-energy-based 5 kW laser, called the Mobile Experimental High Energy Laser (MEHEL) and a 10 kW laser on the High Energy Laser Mobile Test Truck (HELMTT).
Tests conducted at White Sands Missile Range, Eglin Air Force Base, and the Redstone Test Center have shown the lasers “highly successful” at destroying small-caliber munitions, shooting down a Class II Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), shooting down a Group 1 UAS, and destroying materiel targets.
Dickinson said these tests collected terabytes of data to validate the initial models.
He also noted the Stryker-based 5 kW laser does not require engineers to operate so several warfighters were trained to use it in two weeks.
The Army will now gradually move its efforts to larger capabilities, although Dickinson did not mention the possibility of using lasers for missile defense any time soon.
“So in FY ’18 we will continue to improve upon these cutting edge systems by testing a 50 kW laser integrated into the similar platform.” The 50 kW laser is part of the high energy laser tactical vehicle demonstrator, which will be on the HELMTT, like the 10kW laser.
He characterized the development steps the Army as like taking bites at a time. They have shown the capability of 5 and 10 kW lasers, plan to demonstrate a 50 kW laser system in 2018 and eventually reach a 100 kW laser by the 2022 timeframe.
Dickinson said the 50 kW laser will have a little more range, power, and beam control/steering. He acknowledged the Army is looking at targets larger than just UAS and possible fixed and rotor wing aircraft, but was reluctant to give details.
“So you can imagine as you go from counter-UAS capabilities, you know small quad-copters, you increase power, if you will, with the weapon system it allows you to engage – maybe different or larger types of targets.”
“So potentially rotor-wing, fixed-wing, those types of targets,” he continued.
Dickinson said these laser systems can be integrated into more rugged and mobile platforms compatible with the Army’s battle management network “in order to provide a lethal, low-cost, and persistent defensive capability.”
He is also pursuing creating a high-energy laser center of excellence at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., home to Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
Dickinson also underscored another research program, Kestrel Eye (KE). KE is an electro-optical micro satellite being developed as a joint capability technology demonstrator. It is an attempt to demonstrate the military utility of providing near-real time situational awareness to a combat team at the squad level.
KE aims to provide satellite imagery without the need for the large space relay systems. It is set to launch from Cape Canaveral as part of an International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission this year. Once aboard the ISS, the crew there will deploy the microsatellite into its orbit.
Once Kestrel Eye is deployed and and orbits to a safe distance from the ISS, it is set to automatically power up and be ready to receive signals. The Army plans to measure the utility of KE through test exercises over the following few years, Dickinson said.