Air Force Wants Lasers on Fighter Jets by 2025.

• Author: Lee, Connie
• Position: NEWS BRIEFS

Lockheed Martin is working toward outfitting a directed energy system on fighter jets by the middle of the decade, according to a company official.

"We're committing to putting a laser pod equipped with a high-energy laser in the air within five years," said Mark Stephen, business development lead for strategic technology development at Lockheed Martin's missiles and fire control division.

The company is a core member of an industry team partnering for the Air Force Research Laboratory's Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator, or SHiELD, program, Stephen said during a virtual media roundtable in September.

AFRL is developing a directed energy system on an aircraft pod that will demonstrate self-defense against surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles, the organization said in a press release.

The effort is meant to inform requirements for a tactical airborne laser weapon program of record in the mid-2020s, Stephen noted.

Lockheed Martin is also partnering with the Air Force, Navy and Army to develop other directed energy capabilities. These systems will defend U.S. forces against threats such as rockets, small drones and small attack boats, said Robb Mansfield, senior manager of business development for laser and sensor systems within Lockheed Martin's integrated warfare system and sensors business.

One aspect of the technology the company has been focused on perfecting is its beam director, Mansfield said.

"The beam director is the optical system that puts the high-energy light on target and keeps it there with enough precision to defeat the threat," he said. "We spent several years developing...