Solid State Laser News

HEL concept from Rafael in Israel. Unknown how far along they are (no pics of actual hardware I can find). I would guess this is a bundled fiber laser system using noncoherently coupled lasers boresighted into a common aperture. This might turn out to be the first combat validated HEL system ever deployed if they actually go through with full development.
 

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Why would they put the turret there, restricting its line of "fire" so dramatically? A pop-up turret through the roof of the container would make a lot more sense.
 
Mechanical simplicity, probably. It looks to me as though the entire system is mounted on rails inside the ISO container, so it all slides back and out to expose the beam director. That keeps a fixed geometry between the lasing parts and the beam director, eliminating a potential point of failure.

For Israel's scenarios, the threat axes for short-range weapons like this are pretty well known. They don't need a super-wide coverage arc.
 
Excalibur Prototype Extends Reach of High-Energy Lasers March 06, 2014
Demonstration expands capability of high power optical phased arrays driven by fiber laser amplifiers

High-energy lasers (HEL) have the potential to benefit a variety of military missions, particularly as weapons or as high-bandwidth communications devices. However, the massive size, weight and power requirements (SWaP) of legacy laser systems limit their use on many military platforms. Even if SWaP limitations can be overcome, turbulence manifested as density fluctuations in the atmosphere increase laser beam size at the target, further limiting laser target irradiance and effectiveness over long distances.

Recently, DARPA’s Excalibur program successfully developed and employed a 21-element optical phased array (OPA) with each array element driven by fiber laser amplifiers. This low power array was used to precisely hit a target 7 kilometers—more than 4 miles away. The OPA used in these experiments consisted of three identical clusters of seven tightly packed fiber lasers, with each cluster only 10 centimeters across.

“The success of this real-world test provides evidence of how far OPA lasers could surpass legacy lasers with conventional optics,” said Joseph Mangano, DARPA program manager. “It also bolsters arguments for this technology’s scalability and its suitability for high-power testing. DARPA is planning tests over the next three years to demonstrate capabilities at increasing power levels, ultimately up to 100 kilowatts—power levels otherwise difficult to achieve in such a small package.”

In addition to scalability, Excalibur demonstrated near-perfect correction of atmospheric turbulence—at levels well above that possible with conventional optics. While not typically noticeable over short distances, the atmosphere contains turbulent density fluctuations that can increase the divergence and reduce the uniformity of laser beams, leading to diffuse, shifted and splotchy laser endpoints, resulting in less power on the target. The recent Excalibur demonstration used an ultra-fast optimization algorithm to effectively “freeze” the deeply turbulent atmosphere, and then correcting the resulting static optically aberrated atmosphere in sub-milliseconds to maximize the laser irradiance delivered to the target. These experiments validated that the OPA could actively correct for even severe atmospheric distortion. The demonstration ran several tens of meters above the ground, where atmospheric effects can be most detrimental for Army, Navy and Marine Corp applications. In addition, these experiments demonstrated that OPAs might be important for correcting for the effects of boundary layer turbulence around aircraft platforms carrying laser systems.

The successful demonstration helps advance Excalibur’s goal of a 100-kilowatt-class laser system in a scalable, ultra-low SWaP OPA configuration compatible with existing weapon system platforms. Continued development and testing of Excalibur fiber optic laser arrays may one day lead to multi-100 kilowatt-class HELs in a package 10 times lighter and more compact than legacy high-power laser systems. Future tests aim to prove the OPA’s capabilities in even more intense environmental turbulence conditions and at higher powers. Such advances may one day offer improved reliability and performance for applications such as aircraft self-defense and ballistic missile defense.

“With power efficiencies of more than 35 percent and the near-perfect beam quality of fiber laser arrays, these systems can achieve the ultra-low SWaP required for deployment on a broad spectrum of platforms,” said Mangano. “Beyond laser weapons, this technology may also benefit low-power applications such as laser communications and the search for, and identification of, targets.”
 
On a somewhat humorous tangent:

ncartoon0225.jpg

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1434040/smog-chinas-top-defence-against-us-laser-weapons-says-pla-navy-admiral
 
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/03/navy-will-deploy-first-ship-with-laser-weapon-this-summer/
 
Picture of Excalibur phased laser array. I didn't see any reference to the company doing the work. Speculation on my part that the little metal pieces you see straddling the 7 lens groupings is to measure and maintain a common reference plane to phase these segments to each other. The lenses within each segment would be phased together using the laser itself. Again, just guesswork on my part. They might be nothing more than fancy looking tie downs. Interesting piece of work.
 

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Thanks, I missed that. Small world. I recognize a name in there. I was looking for a big boy (Northrop/Lockheed/Boeing) and didn't spot it. Typical small company business model of chasing SBIRs. If they actually score big they will be swooped up by one of the primes.
 
There's a picture on their website that shows a little more detail of those fittings (it's in a Flash slideshow on their home page so I can't repost it here). It looks like they are just metal clamps that fit over the posts on the front of each module
 
All Systems Go: Navy's Laser Weapon Ready for Summer Deployment




Navy engineers are making final adjustments to a laser weapon prototype that will be the first of its kind to deploy aboard a ship late this summer.


The prototype, an improved version of the Laser Weapon System (LaWS), will be installed on USS Ponce for at-sea testing in the Persian Gulf, fulfilling plans announced by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert at the 2013 Sea-Air-Space Expo.


"This is a revolutionary capability," said Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder. "It's absolutely critical that we get this out to sea with our Sailors for these trials, because this very affordable technology is going to change the way we fight and save lives."


Navy leaders have made directed-energy weapons a top priority to counter what they call asymmetric threats, including unmanned and light aircraft and small attack boats that could be used to deny U.S. forces access to certain areas. High-energy lasers offer an affordable and safe way to target these threats at the speed of light with extreme precision and an unlimited magazine, experts say.


"Our nation's adversaries are pursuing a variety of ways to try and restrict our freedom to operate," Klunder said. "Spending about $1 per shot of a directed-energy source that never runs out gives us an alternative to firing costly munitions at inexpensive threats."


Klunder leads the Office of Naval Research (ONR), which has worked with the Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Research Laboratory, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and others to make powerful directed-energy weapons a reality.


The Navy already has demonstrated the effectiveness of lasers in a variety of maritime settings. In a 2011 demonstration, a laser was used to defeat multiple small boat threats from a destroyer. In 2012, LaWS downed several unmanned aircraft in tests.


Over the past several months, working under the ONR Quick Reaction Capability program, a team of Navy engineers and scientists have upgraded LaWS, and proved that targets tracked with a Phalanx Close-In Weapon can be easily handed over to the laser's targeting and tracking system. The result is a weapon system with a single laser weapon control console, manned by a surface warfare weapons officer aboard USS Ponce who can operate all functions of the laser-and if commanded, fire the laser weapon.


Using a video game-like controller, that sailor will be able to manage the laser's power to accomplish a range of effects against a threat, from disabling to complete destruction.


The deployment on Ponce will prove crucial as the Navy continues its push to provide laser weapons to the fleet at large.


Data regarding accuracy, lethality and other factors from the Ponce deployment will guide the development of even more capable weapons under ONR's Solid-State Laser - Technology Maturation program. Under this program, industry teams led by Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and Raytheon Corp. have been selected to develop cost-effective, combat-ready laser prototypes that could be installed on vessels such as guided-missile destroyers and the Littoral Combat Ship in 2016.


The Navy will decide next year which, if any, of the three industry prototypes are suitable to move forward and begin initial ship installation for further testing.


"We are in the midst of a pivotal transition with a technology that will keep our Sailors and Marines safe and well-defended for years to come," said Peter Morrison, ONR program manager for SSL-TM. "We believe the deployment on Ponce and SSL-TM will pave the way for a future acquisition program of record so we can provide this capability across the fleet.


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I wonder what, if any, coordination goes on with the HELLADS program with DARPA/General Atomics. Seems like a "lase-off" between HELLADS, JHPSSL, and whatever is developed with a coherently combined fiber laser design would provide useful benchmarks for SWaP specifications.
 
Lockheed Martin Wins Contract To Develop Weapons Grade Fiber Laser for U.S. Army Field Test

BOTHELL, Wash., April 24, 2014 – The U.S. Army has awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a $25 million contract to design, build and test a 60-kilowatt electric laser to be integrated and tested in a truck-mounted weapon system demonstrator. The laser weapon is designed to significantly improve the warfighters’ ability to counter rockets, artillery, mortars and unmanned aerial threats.

Under a contract managed by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s Technical Center, the Lockheed Martin-provided laser will be integrated on the High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD). This ruggedized laser builds on the corporation’s work under the current Robust Electric Laser Initiative (RELI) contract for the Army.

“Lockheed Martin continues to advance its high-energy fiber laser technology to provide a proven, affordable weapon architecture that supports the size, weight, and power constraints our customers face,” said Paula Hartley, vice president of Advanced Product Solutions for Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training business. “Our solution is much smaller, lighter and more electrically efficient than others in the market and can bring tremendous value to the Army and other military customers.”

The corporation’s electric laser system implements multiple compact, rugged fiber laser modules to generate a high power output beam with excellent beam quality and high electrical efficiency. A unique spectral beam combining process is used to combine many fiber lasers into a single beam of light that retains the high beam quality of the individual fiber modules while reaching the 60 kilowatt mark.

Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin announced it had demonstrated a 30-kilowatt fiber laser, the highest power ever documented while retaining beam quality and electrical efficiency. The internally funded research and development demonstration was achieved by combining many fiber lasers into a single, near-perfect quality beam of light—all while using approximately 50 percent less electricity than alternative solid-state laser technologies.

This successful demonstration marked a significant milestone on the path to deploying a mission-relevant laser weapon system for a wide range of air, land and sea military platforms.

Lockheed Martin has specialized in directed energy laser weapon system development for the past 30 years and purchased Aculight in 2008 to further strengthen its offerings at every level—from pioneering research to solid prototyping and flexible manufacturing.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 113,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2013 were $45.4 billion.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2014/april/140424-mst-lm-wins-contract-to-develop-weapons-grade-fiber-laser.html
 
Lockheed Martin Demonstrates ADAM Ground-Based Laser System Against Military-Grade Small Boats

Prototype Successful in Tests with Both Sea-based and Airborne Targets

SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 7, 2014 – In tests off the California coast, a Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] prototype laser system successfully disabled two boats at a range of approximately 1.6 kilometers (approximately 1 mile). These were the first tests of the Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) system against maritime targets.

Lockheed Martin is developing the transportable, ground-based ADAM laser system to demonstrate a practical, affordable defense against short-range threats, including Qassam-like rockets, unmanned aerial systems and small boats.

In less than 30 seconds, the ground-based system’s high-energy laser burned through multiple compartments of the rubber hull of the military-grade small boats operating in the ocean. Lockheed Martin previously demonstrated the system’s capabilities in countering representative airborne targets in flight, including small-caliber rocket targets and an unmanned aerial system target. The system can precisely track moving targets at a range of more than 5 kilometers (3.1 miles), and its 10-kilowatt fiber laser can engage targets up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away.

“Our laser weapon initiatives leverage commercial products and processes, focusing on affordability for the user,” said Dr. Ray O. Johnson, Lockheed Martin senior vice president and chief technology officer. “Lockheed Martin continues to invest in advancing fiber laser and beam control technologies, as these successful ADAM tests demonstrate.”

The ADAM design pairs commercial hardware components with Lockheed Martin’s laser beam control architecture and software to affordably provide the performance needed for close-in threats, along with a virtually unlimited “magazine” at a low cost per engagement.

“Our ADAM system tests have shown that high-energy lasers are ready to begin addressing critical defense needs,” said Tory Bruno, president of Strategic and Missile Defense Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. “Putting revolutionary technologies to work in practical applications is a hallmark of innovation at Lockheed Martin.”

Lockheed Martin has pioneered the development and demonstration of high-energy laser capabilities for more than 30 years and has made advances in areas such as precision pointing and control, line-of-sight stabilization and adaptive optics and high-power fiber lasers.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 113,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation’s net sales for 2013 were $45.4 billion.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2014/may/0507-ss-adam.html
 
http://defense-update.com/20140509_adam.html#.U3L4KsJOXMo
 
More low power developments (anti drone). I would think a CROW with autotrack would be less expensive and have other uses but it helps to keep pushing the technology so it eventually breaks through the psychological barriers on fielding weapon lasers (vs pointing-designating).
http://science.dodlive.mil/2014/06/24/ground-based-lasers-bad-news-for-bad-guys/
Going after small drones with manual pointing seems to be a lot of fun but not very effective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP33crds1tI
 

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http://www.dodbuzz.com/2014/07/22/gaza-shows-worth-in-laser-missile-defense-systems/
 
http://defense-update.com/20140813_laser-gbad.html#.U-1Lb8J0ysc
 
Low powered (~50KW?) laser architectures from MBDA and LAWS (Raytheon) showing how multiple fiber lasers are non-coherently combined into a single primary mirror. The German layout uses individual secondary mirrors for each beam feeding into a single primary. I would guess each secondary is a simple flat which folds the input beams onto a path from a virtual common origin point. The electrical/computer feeds going up to the secondary may allow individual fine tuning of each source to overlap at the focus. The LAWS is a more traditional looking layout using a common secondary with collimated input beams. Fine tuning is done by small flats specific to each input source. A lot more mirrors in this layout but more maintainable with access to each laser source.
 

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Not specifically weapon related;

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2014/09/10.aspx
 
This seems to be a solid state laser system:

http://news.yahoo.com/china-successfully-develops-drone-defense-system-xinhua-163036571.html

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-11/02/c_133760714.htm


EDIT: http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?242143-China-develops-anti-drone-laser&p=7442397&viewfull=1#post7442397
 

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Some target practice with LAWS deployed on USS Ponce. It is not clear if the Scan Eagle drone was shot down or just blinded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS-4bjnutqw
 
http://breakingdefense.com/2014/12/laser-on-a-truck-the-armys-role-in-the-offset-strategy/?utm_source=Breaking+Defense&utm_campaign=90951ec43a-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4368933672-90951ec43a-407814345
 
Interesting article summarizing various HEL projects:
http://www.osa-opn.org/home/articles/volume_25/october_2014/features/high-energy_lasers_new_advances_in_defense_applica/

The description of HELLADS as having a liquid lasing medium is surprising. I thought HELLADS was still a solid lasing medium submerged in a liquid coolant.

The Excalibur program featuring multiple fiber lasers is also explained as having a mechanism to phase the fibers into a coherent output. It would be nice to see a video on this project.
 

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fredymac said:
The description of HELLADS as having a liquid lasing medium is surprising. I thought HELLADS was still a solid lasing medium submerged in a liquid coolant.

You do realize HELLADS stands for High Energy LIQUID Laser Area Defense System, right? What other meaning could there be for a liquid laser?

GA-ASI Awarded Contract for Hellads Weapon System Demonstrator
The HELLADS laser concept employs an innovative new approach to electric lasers which combines the high storage density of solid-state with the efficient heat removal of flowing liquids.
Doesn't imply a fiber laser to me, more like it is solid state pumped. The lasing medium doesn't store energy.
 
DSE said:
fredymac said:
The description of HELLADS as having a liquid lasing medium is surprising. I thought HELLADS was still a solid lasing medium submerged in a liquid coolant.

You do realize HELLADS stands for High Energy LIQUID Laser Area Defense System, right? What other meaning could there be for a liquid laser?

GA-ASI Awarded Contract for Hellads Weapon System Demonstrator
The HELLADS laser concept employs an innovative new approach to electric lasers which combines the high storage density of solid-state with the efficient heat removal of flowing liquids.
Doesn't imply a fiber laser to me, more like it is solid state pumped. The lasing medium doesn't store energy.


My problem is in visualizing high flux density passing through a liquid. I have worked with liquid dye lasers before but at far lower power outputs. At some point, you have enough joules in the liquid to induce undesireable effects. The liquid will have some index of refraction so variations in homogeneity will directly impact wavefront. Without seeing the resonator layout and whether the gain medium is internal to it makes it hard to figure out. General Atomics website doesn't provide any insight.
Even though this article is in OSA, I will take a grain of salt to the description until more information is released. I find it much easier to conceive of a solid slab medium immersed in chilled coolant with the end faces kept dry. We will just have to wait and see.
 
fredymac said:
My problem is in visualizing high flux density passing through a liquid. I have worked with liquid dye lasers before but at far lower power outputs. At some point, you have enough joules in the liquid to induce undesireable effects. The liquid will have some index of refraction so variations in homogeneity will directly impact wavefront. Without seeing the resonator layout and whether the gain medium is internal to it makes it hard to figure out. General Atomics website doesn't provide any insight.
Even though this article is in OSA, I will take a grain of salt to the description until more information is released. I find it much easier to conceive of a solid slab medium immersed in chilled coolant with the end faces kept dry. We will just have to wait and see.
In a previous life I worked with high power discharge pumped excimer gas lasers. There is a similar issue with the lasing medium homogeneity, the reason to use a flowing fluid. Typical homogeneity requirement was delta rho/rho of ~10-3.
 
German photons at work......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u058M-aO7U

As far as I know this is the first/only video of a non American HEL shooting down something. I saw that video Flateric posted awhile back on the Russian HEL program but aside from blowing up a stationary fuel tank (I think that was what it was) it didn't show any beam control technology.

I really would like to see a video of HELLADS (the real thing and not that General Atomics animation with Predator C) or the JHPSSL at the old THEL site. 100KW with AO would make short work of RAM targets.
 
http://aviationweek.com/defense/general-atomics-claims-laser-weapon-advance?NL=AW-18&Issue=AW-18_20150213_AW-18_334&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_14&YM_RID=CPEN1000000230026&YM_MID=1744

IMHO more evidence the NGB will get defensive DEW.
 

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