<\/u>El US Army cada vez m\u00e1s cerca de equipar sus veh\u00edculos de combate, con DEW (Direct Energy Weapons) para hacer frente a la creciente amenaza de los UAV\u00b4s\u00a0\u00a0armados, proyectiles de artiller\u00eda, cohetes y morteros. El Programa denominado \u201cGround- based High Energy Laser\u201d busca desarrollar armas Laser de 50 a 100Kw, para ser montadas en diferentes veh\u00edculos t\u00e1cticos medianos.<\/p>\n
MONS Correspondent Marty Kauchak files this end-of-the-day report from the Space and Missile Defense (SMD) Symposium, Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama.<\/p>\n
The US Army SMDC\/ARSTRAT (Space & Missile Defense Command\/Army Forces Strategic Command) is quickening its pace to expand the science and technology envelope of ground-based high energy lasers.<\/p>\n
The command is working on two demonstrators with physical hardware: Mobile Experimental High Energy Laser and High Energy Laser Mobile Test Truck. The service has incrementally increased its technology baseline for the Mobile Experimental High Energy Laser demonstrator \u2013 starting in 2016 with a 2kW (kilowatt) laser on a GDLS STRYKER and upgrading the unit earlier this year to a 5kW model. \u201cThat participated in the Maneuver Fires<\/em>\u00a0Integration Experiment [MFIX 2017] at Fort Sill, Oklahoma this March-April<\/em>,\u201d\u00a0Adam Aberle, SMDC\/ARSTRAT<\/strong>\u00a0Technical Center\u2019s high energy laser<\/strong>technology development and demonstration lead<\/strong>\u00a0said. \u201cWe are currently working to see if we can upgrade that to a 10kW on that same platform for<\/em>\u00a0participation this MFIX 18 [November-December of this year].<\/em>”<\/p>\n The High Energy Laser Mobile Test Truck is the command\u2019s second technology thrust in progress.\u00a0Oshkosh Defense\u2019s\u00a08×8 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) is the chassis used in this project. The project was launched in 2006 when a beam control system was developed and later tested in 2011. In 2012, the command selected a commercial off-the-shelf 10kW IPG [IPG\u00a0PhotonicsCorporation of Oxford, Massachusetts] laser for integration on the chassis.\u00a0Aberle<\/strong>\u00a0added, \u201cfor the last several years we\u2019ve been experimenting and collecting data with a 10kW laser with that beam<\/em>control system on the HEMTT, that participated in MFIX 16 and the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization\u2019s Counter-UAS Hard Kill Challenge<\/em>\u00a0earlier this year. Today, we are removing the 10kW laser off the HEMTT and integrating a 60kW laser that we took delivery of last month<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n This 60kW unit is not COTS, but rather, was custom-designed to complete specific service missions. Why the upgrade to a 60kW model?\u00a0Aberle<\/strong>\u00a0replied: \u201cIf I increase the power and keep the laser\u2019s parameters equal (beam quality, spectral line width and others), I can defeat targets quicker \u2013 at a given<\/em>\u00a0range<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n To the operator in the field \u2013 what this simply means, is he or she can deal with more threats \u2013 multiple targets in the air, for instance.<\/p>\n Army\u2019s industry team for this second project includes\u00a0Radiance Technologies\u00a0(Huntsville, Alabama),\u00a0Boeing\u00a0(Albuquerque, New Mexico) and\u00a0Applied\u00a0Technology Associates\u00a0(Albuquerque, New Mexico). The service programme lead continued: \u201cThe 60 kW laser that I talked about was provided by<\/em>Lockheed Martin\u00a0(Seattle) and we\u2019ve also worked with\u00a0Rocky Research\u00a0(Huntsville, Alabama) for thermal management [on the 60kW laser].\u00a0Kratos<\/em>\u00a0Technology\u00a0[& Training Division] (Huntsville, Alabama) completed the chill water system.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n The command\u2019s future projects list in various stages of implementation include the High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle demonstrator and the Multi-Mission High Energy Laser demonstrator.<\/p>\n The High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle demonstrator project will include a whole, new beam-control systemme, taking lessons learned from existing beam control systems, \u201cand then we\u2019ll be striving for a 100kW-class laser on an\u00a0Oshkosh Defense\u00a0FMTV (Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles),<\/em>\u201d the Army project leader added.<\/p>\n The objective is to complete a demonstration of that system in 2022. \u201cThere are a lot long-lead items \u2013 just their development \u2013 that we will achieve in<\/em>\u00a0the next several years<\/em>,\u201d\u00a0Aberle<\/strong>\u00a0said. Anticipated technology challenges as the team proceeds with this project include: refining the precision of the optical components, enhancing the sensors used to detect and track targets, and reducing the size, and improving the efficiency of the laser itself.<\/p>\n The Multi-Mission High Energy Laser demonstrator is expected to integrate a 50kW laser on a STRYKER and complete demonstration in 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cThe key difference between the two projects is the lasers will share a lot of the same components, probably packaged and configured differently, but<\/em>\u00a0there will be significant differences from the beam control system standpoint of what the requirements are and the types of targets each of those<\/em>systems will address. That\u2019s why we can do the 50kW project quicker on a STRYKER, because we are not stressing the beam control technology,<\/em>\u00a0where we are stressing the beam control technology on LTV [High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle] trying to identify the targets the Army says it wants us<\/em>\u00a0focus on<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n These mission sets include Counter-RAM [Rocket, Artillery and Mortar] and Counter-UAS as well as the quantities of targets that need to be dealt with.<\/p>\n