Solid State Laser News
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Laser, railgun programs established at Navy acquisition offices
The Navy has established programs for high-energy lasers and the electromagnetic railgun at Naval Sea Systems Command acquisition directorates, paving the way for technologies that have long been stuck in research and development to potentially be installed on the service's ships one day.
The program executive office for integrated warfare systems (PEO IWS) is developing acquisition plans for lasers and the electromagnetic railgun, as well as the railgun's associated weapon, the hypervelocity projectile, according to NAVSEA spokeswoman Christianne Witten.
Last August, a "Directed Energy Program Office" was set up at the above-water sensors directorate within PEO IWS, Witten wrote in a Feb. 22 email. The new office was established to "accelerate the fielding of High Energy Laser (HEL) weapon systems to the fleet," according to the spokeswoman.
Additionally, last June, the Navy's acquisition executive charged the surface-ship weapons program office at PEO IWS with developing an acquisition and fielding plan for the railgun and the hypervelocity projectile, Witten said.
The directed energy program office at PEO IWS is already surveying industry for a new laser program called "SEASABER." In a Feb. 22 Federal Business Opportunities posting, the sensors directorate asks companies for information on their laser capabilities for development and production of “SEASABER” increment one spanning fiscal years 2018 through FY-22.
The notice states the first increment of the new program will consist of a 60-kilowatt, high-energy laser along with "counter-ISR dazzling capability." The Navy wants to field the system on an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer "in the shortest time frame possible," according to the posting.
"Priorities for this system will include technical maturity, ship integration, combat systems integration, producibility and reliability," the notice states. "Additionally, PEO IWS seeks concepts and interfaces to enable modularity to permit capability upgrades as technology continues to mature."
Additionally, a new full and open competition is in the works for the railgun. While the Office of Naval Research and several companies will continue their development of the railgun and projectile, Witten said the program office is planning to hold a new competition for the technologies prior to them entering the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the acquisition process, known as "milestone B."
"The railgun acquisition program will avoid being 'locked in' to proprietary solutions for key system components," Witten wrote. "It is the Navy's objective to leverage the industry competition that ONR initially held for the subsystems of pulse power, barrel technology maturation and projectiles. Another round of system full and open competition is planned at milestone B."
ONR began the railgun project in 2005. The first phase of the program involved a "proof-of-concept" demonstration of a 32-mega-joule railgun firing, according to ONR's website. The second, ongoing phase involves maturing the railgun technologies so they can be transitioned to an acquisition program.
The latest developments are particularly focused on demonstrating a sustained rep-rate 10 rounds fired per minute, according to Rear Adm. David Hahn, the chief of naval research. The Navy will conduct testing firings to that end later this spring at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, VA, Hahn said during a Feb. 14 address at an industry conference in Arlington, VA. Hahn noted the high heat generated by railgun firings can warp and erode the gun's structure.
"It's not effective if you are having to replace a barrel or re-do the rails after 10 shots," Hahn told reporters following his address.
Major contractors involved with the railgun project include BAE Systems, General Atomics, L3 Technologies and Raytheon. Despite the Navy's intentions for a new round of competition, the acquisition strategy and timeline are still unclear.
"The Navy is in the process of establishing a detailed plan that will further define the path to complete development of key technologies for both the railgun and the HVP and the associated schedule to deploy an operational capability on a Navy ship," Witten, the NAVSEA spokeswoman, said.
The Navy has established programs for high-energy lasers and the electromagnetic railgun at Naval Sea Systems Command acquisition directorates, paving the way for technologies that have long been stuck in research and development to potentially be installed on the service's ships one day.
The program executive office for integrated warfare systems (PEO IWS) is developing acquisition plans for lasers and the electromagnetic railgun, as well as the railgun's associated weapon, the hypervelocity projectile, according to NAVSEA spokeswoman Christianne Witten.
Last August, a "Directed Energy Program Office" was set up at the above-water sensors directorate within PEO IWS, Witten wrote in a Feb. 22 email. The new office was established to "accelerate the fielding of High Energy Laser (HEL) weapon systems to the fleet," according to the spokeswoman.
Additionally, last June, the Navy's acquisition executive charged the surface-ship weapons program office at PEO IWS with developing an acquisition and fielding plan for the railgun and the hypervelocity projectile, Witten said.
The directed energy program office at PEO IWS is already surveying industry for a new laser program called "SEASABER." In a Feb. 22 Federal Business Opportunities posting, the sensors directorate asks companies for information on their laser capabilities for development and production of “SEASABER” increment one spanning fiscal years 2018 through FY-22.
The notice states the first increment of the new program will consist of a 60-kilowatt, high-energy laser along with "counter-ISR dazzling capability." The Navy wants to field the system on an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer "in the shortest time frame possible," according to the posting.
"Priorities for this system will include technical maturity, ship integration, combat systems integration, producibility and reliability," the notice states. "Additionally, PEO IWS seeks concepts and interfaces to enable modularity to permit capability upgrades as technology continues to mature."
Additionally, a new full and open competition is in the works for the railgun. While the Office of Naval Research and several companies will continue their development of the railgun and projectile, Witten said the program office is planning to hold a new competition for the technologies prior to them entering the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the acquisition process, known as "milestone B."
"The railgun acquisition program will avoid being 'locked in' to proprietary solutions for key system components," Witten wrote. "It is the Navy's objective to leverage the industry competition that ONR initially held for the subsystems of pulse power, barrel technology maturation and projectiles. Another round of system full and open competition is planned at milestone B."
ONR began the railgun project in 2005. The first phase of the program involved a "proof-of-concept" demonstration of a 32-mega-joule railgun firing, according to ONR's website. The second, ongoing phase involves maturing the railgun technologies so they can be transitioned to an acquisition program.
The latest developments are particularly focused on demonstrating a sustained rep-rate 10 rounds fired per minute, according to Rear Adm. David Hahn, the chief of naval research. The Navy will conduct testing firings to that end later this spring at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, VA, Hahn said during a Feb. 14 address at an industry conference in Arlington, VA. Hahn noted the high heat generated by railgun firings can warp and erode the gun's structure.
"It's not effective if you are having to replace a barrel or re-do the rails after 10 shots," Hahn told reporters following his address.
Major contractors involved with the railgun project include BAE Systems, General Atomics, L3 Technologies and Raytheon. Despite the Navy's intentions for a new round of competition, the acquisition strategy and timeline are still unclear.
"The Navy is in the process of establishing a detailed plan that will further define the path to complete development of key technologies for both the railgun and the HVP and the associated schedule to deploy an operational capability on a Navy ship," Witten, the NAVSEA spokeswoman, said.
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Laser Proof of Concept Coming Soon
—Wilson Brissett
3/3/2017
US Special Operations Command is currently testing a laser weapon system and hopes to have “a layout of proof of concept” completed within “months to maybe a year,” Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, chief of Air Force Special Operations Command, told reporters at AWS17 on Thursday. He said the system is “SOCOM’s No. 1 unfunded priority” and that he remains “a strong supporter,” but the slow development of the program was understandable given the “scar tissue from programs from the past” that sought to develop directed energy weapons systems. He said the system in development is an “offensive capability” with “very different technology” from previous attempts. One purpose of the ongoing testing, Webb said, is to determine which aircraft would deploy the system, how it would be mounted, and whether current weapons would need to be eliminated from certain airframes to make room for it. Webb said the program is a “joint government and industry project” and that “there are massive supporters within our government of the program.”
—Wilson Brissett
3/3/2017
US Special Operations Command is currently testing a laser weapon system and hopes to have “a layout of proof of concept” completed within “months to maybe a year,” Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, chief of Air Force Special Operations Command, told reporters at AWS17 on Thursday. He said the system is “SOCOM’s No. 1 unfunded priority” and that he remains “a strong supporter,” but the slow development of the program was understandable given the “scar tissue from programs from the past” that sought to develop directed energy weapons systems. He said the system in development is an “offensive capability” with “very different technology” from previous attempts. One purpose of the ongoing testing, Webb said, is to determine which aircraft would deploy the system, how it would be mounted, and whether current weapons would need to be eliminated from certain airframes to make room for it. Webb said the program is a “joint government and industry project” and that “there are massive supporters within our government of the program.”
Upgrade of Army's HEL-MD. Laser is now specified as "100KW class" and an adaptive optics system is included in the beam control system.
Lockheed is currently working on an IR&D fiber laser nominally rated at 60KW to swap out with the current 10KW laser. This program sets up a government funding source but will probably attract other bidders and they may have to upgrade to stay competitive. Boeing will probably continue as the beam control supplier. The 30cm aperture specification is probably close to (or matches) the current design.
Lockheed is currently working on an IR&D fiber laser nominally rated at 60KW to swap out with the current 10KW laser. This program sets up a government funding source but will probably attract other bidders and they may have to upgrade to stay competitive. Boeing will probably continue as the beam control supplier. The 30cm aperture specification is probably close to (or matches) the current design.
bring_it_on
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HEL-MD 60KW laser passes acceptance test. The original laser was only around 10KW. This laser is based on spectrally combined fiber lasers which behave as a single coherent beam (much tighter focusing at target).
SMDC announces 60kW laser test successful
https://www.army.mil/article/184558/smdc_announces_60kw_laser_test_successful
"During the testing conducted last week, the laser demonstrated a sustained power of 57.5kW for a duration of 200 seconds with good beam quality. This level exceeds the contract threshold for success, and with the addition of three more channels planned before delivery, power will exceed the 60kW program objective."
SMDC announces 60kW laser test successful
https://www.army.mil/article/184558/smdc_announces_60kw_laser_test_successful
"During the testing conducted last week, the laser demonstrated a sustained power of 57.5kW for a duration of 200 seconds with good beam quality. This level exceeds the contract threshold for success, and with the addition of three more channels planned before delivery, power will exceed the 60kW program objective."
bring_it_on
I really should change my personal text
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bobbymike said:
Some more details: https://phys.org/news/2017-04-star-wars-superlaser-longer-sci-fi.html
bobbymike said:
I guess superficial is better than biased. The closing paragraphs of the article referenced the ABL and how it was canceled because of concerns that its' laser was too weak.
Compared to electric lasers (either fiber or slab), chemical lasers are still a full 1 to 2 orders of magnitude more powerful. Cancellation was driven by politics as exemplified by the manner in which the aircraft was literally gutted after program termination.
The current generation of electric lasers do have a very significant advantage over chemical lasers in their ease of operation and running duration. No waste chemicals and no plumbing with countless valves and pumps. Beam control development and debugging is a lot easier with that kind of flexibility. Maybe having smaller systems that aren't so tempting to cancel might allow hardware to finally reach deployment.
jsport
what do you know about surfing Major? you're from-
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Thank you sir, for at least bringing up chemical lasers again in this thread. believes Hybrids need a second look.fredymac said:
Likewise the continental Europeans may have something w/ three lenses. Any info on that you can share?
“Likewise the continental Europeans may have something w/ three lenses. Any info on that you can share?”
Modular design in order to limit costs. Each module means a full telescope assembly with its’ own fiber laser sources. The trick is in guessing what is the optimal module power in order to cover enough target scenarios without having an ungainly number of them bolted to the gimbal.
The other aspect is staying below the atmospheric cell size. For vertical air columns that would be around 8 inches or so but for horizontal propagation, it gets messy. Adaptive optics is used to deal with this. If you stay below the cell size, beam tilt can compensate pointing dither.
Modular design in order to limit costs. Each module means a full telescope assembly with its’ own fiber laser sources. The trick is in guessing what is the optimal module power in order to cover enough target scenarios without having an ungainly number of them bolted to the gimbal.
The other aspect is staying below the atmospheric cell size. For vertical air columns that would be around 8 inches or so but for horizontal propagation, it gets messy. Adaptive optics is used to deal with this. If you stay below the cell size, beam tilt can compensate pointing dither.
Almost certainly another fiber based HEL with only a few KW of power. Still, it will provide some early real-world data on beam pointing when mounted on the equivalent of a paint-shaker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW757uG8Op0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW757uG8Op0
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Lockheed Martin Gets $9 Million to Test UAS-Based Laser
The Missile Defense Agency on Oct. 5 awarded a $9 million contract to Lockheed Martin for integration and testing of a low power laser to be used on an unmanned aerial system. The program is called Low Power Laser Demonstrator Phase 1, and the contract is for work on laser power and aperture size. The estimated completion date for the work is July 5, 2018. Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein has promised to push directed energy programs during his tenure. In July, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Paul Selva committed to convene a meeting of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to review recent developments in laser technology. —Wilson Brissett
The Missile Defense Agency on Oct. 5 awarded a $9 million contract to Lockheed Martin for integration and testing of a low power laser to be used on an unmanned aerial system. The program is called Low Power Laser Demonstrator Phase 1, and the contract is for work on laser power and aperture size. The estimated completion date for the work is July 5, 2018. Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein has promised to push directed energy programs during his tenure. In July, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Paul Selva committed to convene a meeting of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to review recent developments in laser technology. —Wilson Brissett
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DOD taps Lockheed to start new effort to develop airborne missile-defense laser
The Defense Department has tapped Lockheed Martin to begin integrating a low-power laser on a high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle, the first of a small number of contracts slated to be awarded this year to develop competing approaches for a potential precursor to an airborne laser capable of intercepting ballistic missiles during the boost-phase of flight.
The Defense Department has tapped Lockheed Martin to begin integrating a low-power laser on a high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle, the first of a small number of contracts slated to be awarded this year to develop competing approaches for a potential precursor to an airborne laser capable of intercepting ballistic missiles during the boost-phase of flight.
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