Lockheed Martin will scale its laser technology to a new benchmark: a 500 kW-class laser, reportedly the most powerful laser Lockheed Martin has produced, topping its 300 kW-class laser power level developed under a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering, OUSD (R&E). The 500 kW-class laser is the second phase of the High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative (HELSI).
This phase of HELSI aims to increase the laser’s power level while achieving excellent beam quality and optimizing efficiency, size, weight and volume for the continuous-wave high energy laser sources. Proving this capability will reduce risk for the U.S. Department of Defense acquisition and fielding of high-powered laser weapon systems for all six military branches.
The 500 kW-class laser will be tactically configured, utilize Lockheed Martin’s proven spectral beam combined architecture to support military platforms, and incorporate U.S. Department of Defense Modular Open System Approach standards to ensure the systems interoperability and multi-mission integration.