Northrop Grumman has a new high-energy laser bomber concept in the works that the company believes could tackle a mix of interdiction, strike, and special operations missions. The maker of the B-2 stealth bomber demonstrated its new concept—in a virtual world—earlier this year during an annual war game exercise hosted by Air Force Research Lab’s Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland AFB, N.M. Working with a variety of munitions and weapons systems, including an electronic attack platform, a Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle, and an F-35, Northrop principal investigator Robert Smerke, said, “In all cases, we demonstrated that the HEL bomber could be an effective partner in helping establish air superiority.” The Northrop concept also carried a special ops team in a pressurized, self-contained pod, dropping them into the simulated action.
The Space Force should take bold, decisive steps—and soon—to develop the capabilities and architecture needed to support more flexible, dynamic operations in orbit and counter Chinese aggression and technological progress, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
