By Dave Ahearn
A solid state laser program has succeeded in linking several lasers together in a chain, a key breakthrough toward eventually producing a high-powered weapon system, a Northrop Grumman [NOC] briefer said yesterday.
That is just one development that is part of a larger story, in which lasers are poised to become weapons or protective shields of the future, according to Dan Wildt, vice president of Northrop Grumman Directed Energy Systems, speaking to defense journalists at a briefing in the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Northrop Grumman is involved with myriad laser systems, ranging from the giant Missile Defense Agency program to create the Airborne Laser to demolish enemy ballistic missiles just after they lift off from a launch pad or silo, to other systems mounted either on aircraft or on airport land to protect airliners from terrorist missile attacks.
One program is the Joint High Powered Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) effort.
Wildt said a key step has been taken here toward developing a high-powered 100 kW laser weapon that could be used for precision strike missions in the air, at sea or on land. Such a weapon could kill soft targets such as enemy sensors, and also could take out terrorist-piloted swarm boats attempting to sink large U.S. Navy ships.
By linking solid-state lasers together in a chain that can develop 15 kW, Northrop Grumman hopes to build a series of chains to produce more than 100 kW.
With each additional laser chain brought into the total system, power rises.
The intent is to link together eight of the chains, which would have a potential total power output of 120 kW. Wildt explained that will give Northrop Grumman a cushion in easily producing 100 kW.
He expects the 100 kW target to be reached by the end of the year.
A test with the first laser chain on Dec. 20 was a success, reaching 15.3 kW, more than the 12.7 kW target requirement.
On other laser developments, Wildt said:
- Northrop Grumman is about 70 percent through installing the laser equipment in the Airborne Laser (ABL), with work such as installing plumbing still to be done. The ABL involves a heavily-modified 747-400 freighter jumbo jet contributed by the prime contractor, Boeing [BA], the laser system by Northrop Grumman and a beam control/fire control system by Lockheed Martin [LMT]. ABL will be able to annihilate an enemy ballistic missile and fry its electronics in its most vulnerable phase, just after launch, before it has an opportunity to emit multiple warheads, decoys or confusing chaff.
- Israel may find a solution to its most pressing problem in laser systems. Israel has been savaged by 4,000 rockets and missiles fired from South Lebanon; 2,000 fired from the Gaza Strip, and more, Wildt noted. Lasers could provide a way to swiftly counter barrages of missiles fired into Israel. “Lasers offer unique capabilities,” he said, referring to the fact that lasers are light beams, moving at the speed of light: 186,300 miles an hour. That means they can strike an enemy weapon almost instantly. A tactical high-energy laser could defeat enemy rockets before they could reach buildings or humans in Israel. Unlike some missile defense systems, a laser can be switched on in almost no time. In one program, the goal was to have the laser activate in one second, and it beat that by activating in 0.8 second, from standby mode to full power.
- Northrop Grumman offers two ways to counteract terrorists using shoulder-mounted man-portable missiles, or MANPADs, to take down airliners as they come in to land or take off from airports. One system mounts on each airliner, while the other would be located on the airport property.
- Wildt is agnostic as to whether, in some future time, solid state or chemical lasers will prevail. Chemical systems are used now for very high-powered operations, in the megawatt class, he noted.
- Another strong point for lasers is that they excel if an enemy missile or other target is taking rapid evasive maneuvers, because the light beam can remain focused on the target. In contrast, a different U.S. shield system employing an interceptor missile may have difficulty in countering those enemy evasive moves.
- Lasers can be used to protect a wide variety of assets, including fixed installations such as nuclear power plants, from enemy missile or aircraft attack.
“We at Northrop Grumman are convinced lasers will be a big part” of defensive systems shielding against enemy attacks, Wildt concluded. That will happen sooner, he said, if the government funds some development programs aggressively.