Crux: Lockheed Martin’s directed energy weapon system achieves development milestone to meet the needs of the U.S. military which has invested billions in laser-powered weapons. These weapons can be used as a force multiplier, enabling militaries to counter a growing range of emerging threats.
Lockheed Martin has announced that its Directed Energy Interceptor for Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense System (DEIMOS) system has achieved the first light, a development milestone, in January. The milestone indicates that DEIMOS could meet the US Army’s modernization strategy requirements.
DEIMOS Directed Energy System: The 50 kW-class DEIMOS system is a tactical laser weapon system that can be integrated into the Stryker combat vehicle to deliver robust directed energy capability to the U.S. Army’s challenging 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,” says 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.”
Lockheed Martin DEIMOS system’s first light demonstration is an important milestone for weapon technology as it prepares to compete for the army’s Directed Energy Manoeuvre Short-Range Air Defence (DE M-SHORAD) program. The key benefit, according to the defense company, is that the game-changing and low-cost Spectral Beam Combination (SBC) can be scaled while retaining the excellent beam quality of the individual fiber lasers.
Laser weapon systems represent a significant technological advancement due to their unique ability to offer high speed, versatility, accuracy, and cost-efficiency in engagements. Lockheed Martin will expand the DEIMOS test program in 2023, culminating with field integration tests in 2024.
What are Directed Energy Weapons?
Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) are next-generation technologies that could revolutionize the battlefield and help to reduce the risk of collateral damage. These weapons are considered as a critical part of future warfare. The directed energy weapon system acquires, tracks, targets, and defeats mortars and large drones in complex swarming scenarios.
The U.S. military has long been interested in harnessing these capabilities. The U.S. Air Force leads the Directed Energy Directorate at Albuquerque’s Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) which spends its time researching and developing weapons that use concentrated electromagnetic energy of a highly focused beam of light to deliver a high amount of energy to a target.
What is DE M-SHORAD?
The DE M-SHORAD is a 50-kilowatt class laser weapon system on a Stryker vehicle. In this system, the beam comes out of a roof-mounted beam director. Contrary to lasers in the movies, directed energy does not emit a large red laser nor make a loud noise.
In October 2021, the U.S. Army awarded a $123 million contract for DE M-SHORAD weapon systems to Raytheon. The weapon system offers protection for maneuvering ground forces and equipment from threats such as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), rotary-wing aircraft, and rockets, artillery, and mortars. “Soldiers in the field face increasingly complex threats, and our combat-proven sensors, software, and lasers are ready to give them a new level of protection,” said Annabel Flores, president of Electronic Warfare Systems for Raytheon Intelligence & Space.
