Lockheed Martin has demonstrated a portable, ground-based laser system called ADAM in a series of tests against rockets and remotely piloted aircraft, announced the company on Nov. 27. ADAM stands for Area Defense Anti-Munitions system; the 10-kilowatt fiber laser is designed to bring down short-range aerial threats, states the company’s release. Since August, ADAM has successfully engaged an RPA in flight at a range of nearly a mile and has destroyed four small-caliber rockets in simulated flight at a range of about 1.2 miles, according to the release. “Lockheed Martin has applied its expertise as a laser weapon system integrator to provide a practical and affordable defense against serious threats to military forces and installations,” said Paul Shattuck, the company’s director of directed energy systems for strategic and missile defense purposes. ADAM, which incorporates some commercial hardware, has a tracking range of more than three miles and can engage RPA with an external radar cue, according to the company.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
