The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency recently awarded General Atomics Aeronautical Systems a contract to develop the lightweight demonstrator laser weapon system for the agency’s High Energy Liquid Laser Defense System program. “GA-ASI pioneered a new concept for electrically pumped, high-energy lasers, and under DARPA sponsorship, this technology has developed into a promising new weapon,” said Michael Perry, who oversees GA-ASI’s reconnaissance systems, in the company’s release. Under the contract, which covers phase four of HELLADS development, GA-ASI will produce the 150-kilowatt demonstrator—weighing less than 2,000 pounds—and have it available for ground testing “against a variety of military targets” at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., in 2013. HELLADS is envisioned as a laser defensive system light enough for use on tactical aircraft, including remotely piloted aircraft. There are plans for its eventual integration with a B-1B bomber for aerial testing.
The Space Force relies entirely on data—but it lacks the systems and tools to analyze and share that data properly even within the service, let alone with international partners, officials said May 1.