Pentagon Receives Highest Powered Laser Weapon from Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin delivered a new electric 300 kW-class laser, the most powerful laser the company has produced to date, to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering OUSD (R&E).

This 300 kW-class laser is ready to integrate with the DOD demonstration efforts including the U.S. Army’s Indirect Fires Protection Capability-High Energy Laser (IFPC-HEL) Demonstrator laser weapon system.

The OUSD (R&E) selected Lockheed Martin in 2019 to scale its spectral beam combined high energy laser architecture to the 300 kW-class level as part of the High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative (HELSI), and the team recently achieved that milestone ahead of schedule.

“Lockheed Martin increased the power and efficiency and reduced the weight and volume of continuous-wave high energy lasers which reduces risk for future fielding efforts of high power laser weapon systems,” said Rick Cordaro, vice president, Lockheed Martin Advanced Product Solutions.

The HELSI laser will support demonstration efforts with the Army’s Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High Energy Laser (IFPC-HEL), which is scheduled for laboratory and field testing this year.