Pentagon wants more money for directed-energy weapons for drone-swarm and missile defense
WASHINGTON – The U.S. military will request more money to develop lasers, microwave beams, and other directed-energy weapons to fight off missiles and drone swarms, the Pentagon’s top weapons engineer says. Defense One reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
21 Nov. 2018 -- “You’re going to see, in upcoming budgets for missile defense, a renewed emphasis on laser scaling [meaning scaling up the power of laser weapons] across several technologies,” says Michael Griffin, defense undersecretary for research and engineering.
“In my opinion, we are no more than a few years away from having laser weapons of military utility,” Griffin says. “In units of ones or twos, we can roll out tens of kilowatts. That is within a factor of two or three of being useful on a battlefield, airplane or ship” to take out enemy drone swarms, Griffin says. A space-based weapon that could destroy boost-phase missiles would require power in the megawatt class.
One big question remains: whether missile-defense satellites will make it into the Missile Defense Review, the Trump administration’s plan for next-generation missiles and missile defense. “It will be shared when the administration is ready to share it,” Griffin says.
Related: Worldwide directed-energy weapons market to reach $24.31 billion over the next five years
John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
Ready to make a purchase? Search the Military & Aerospace Electronics Buyer's Guide for companies, new products, press releases, and videos
