Lockheed Martin ground-based laser system performs against rockets and drones

SUNNYVALE, Calif., 28 Nov. 2012. Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has demonstrated a portable, ground-based military laser system in a series of tests against representative airborne targets. The system, called the area defense anti-munitions (ADAM) system, was developed by Lockheed Martin to provide a defense against short-range threats, such as rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Lockheed Martin’s ADAM system is a laser weapon system that defeats close-in improvised rocket and UAV threats. This ground-based, transportable system is self-contained to conduct the full engagement sequence against rockets and accepts an initial external radar cue to engage UAVs.

Since August, the ADAM system has successfully engaged an unmanned aerial system target in flight at a range of approximately 0.9 miles, and has destroyed four small-caliber rocket targets in simulated flight at a range of approximately 1.2 miles.

The ADAM system uses a 10-kilowatt fiber laser that is engineered to destroy targets up to 1.2 miles away. The system can track targets in cluttered optical environments and has a tracking range of more than 3.1 miles. The system has been designed to operate against rockets as a standalone system and to engage UAVs with an external radar cue. The ADAM system uses a modular architecture that combines commercial hardware components with the company's proprietary software in an integrated system.