The Army used a vehicle-mounted high-energy laser for the primary time to successfully engage greater than 90 mortar rounds and a number of other unmanned aerial vehicles in flight.
The Army High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator, or HEL MD, underwent multiple test events between Nov. 18 and Dec. 10, at White Sands Missile Range.
This was the primary full-up demonstration of the HEL MD inside the configuration that included the laser and beam director mounted inside the vehicle, in response to officials of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command. They said a surrogate radar, the improved Multi Mode Radar, supported the engagement by queuing the laser.
The HEL MD is being developed to point out directed-energy force-protection capabilities against rockets, artillery and mortars, called RAM. It’s also intended to give protection to against unmanned aerial vehicles, referred to as UAVs, and cruise missiles.
Mortars travel at low velocities for brief ranges in high-arching trajectories. These weapons, in addition to UAVs, are representative of the threat encountered by U.S. and allied forces at the battlefield, officials said.
Initial system effectiveness was proven through low- and medium-power test demonstration that passed off in 2011. High-power testing has now concluded on the High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility on White Sands Missile Range.
The demonstration and testing confirms the potential of a mobile solid-state laser weapon system to counter mortars, UAVs, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors mounted at the UAVs, officials said.
The recent testing utilized a ten-kilowatt class laser. One day, a 50-kW class laser might be integrated into the HEL MD platform, officials said. The 50-kW laser is scheduled to be upgraded to a 100-kW class laser in subsequent demonstrations, they added.
The supporting thermal and gear subsystems can also be upgraded to support the increasingly powerful solid-state lasers, consistent with USASMDC/ARSTRAT officials. They said these upgrades increases the effective range of the laser or decrease required lase time on the right track.
The Boeing Company is the prime contractor for the HEL MD program.
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