A General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) and Boeing team has been awarded a US Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) contract to develop a 300kW-class solid state distributed gain high energy laser weapon system, according to a press release from General Atomics. The plans are for a 300 kW-class laser with an integrated Boeing beam director. The objective of the contract is a demonstration of the design.
The partnership combines both companies’ expertise in directed energy to deliver best-in-class, combat-ready protection for the warfighter with unmatched speed, performance, safety and affordability, the company says. The system is to leverage GA-EMS’ scalable distributed gain laser technology with Boeing’s beam director and precision acquisition, tracking and pointing software to provide a complete demonstrator with laser and beam control.
JH