Lockheed Martin Corp. announced on Monday that it had achieved the first light from the Directed Energy Interceptor for Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense System (DEIMOS) system, confirming that the optical performance parameters of the 50-kW laser align with the system design parameters.
The 50-kW-class DEIMOS system from Lockheed Martin is a ruggedized tactical laser weapon system that can be installed into the Stryker combat vehicle to provide robust directed energy capability to the U.S. Army’s difficult Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) mission.
“The 50 kW-class laser weapon system brings another critical piece to help ensure the U.S. Army has a layered air defense capability,” said Rick Cordaro, vice president of Lockheed Martin Advanced Product Solutions.
“DEIMOS has been tailored from our prior laser weapon successes to affordably meet the Army’s larger modernization strategy for air and missile defense and to improve mission success with 21st Century Security solutions.”
First light assesses the system’s expected beam quality while testing the end-to-end performance of the company’s low-cost Spectral Beam Combination (SBC) design. The main advantage of the company’s SBC is the ability to grow power while maintaining the superb beam quality of the individual fiber lasers.
Lockheed Martin’s DEIMOS first light demonstration is an important step toward assisting the Army with its DE M-SHORAD mission, which is to deliver a maneuverable laser system capable of negating unmanned aerial systems, rotary-wing aircraft, rockets, artillery, and mortars.
The Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) is directing the DE M-SHORAD prototyping effort, with the program slated to be handed over to the Program Executive Office (PEO) Missiles & Space in 2024.