The U.S. Army contracts for a laser weapon demonstrator: A laser weapon to counter rockets, artillery, mortars and unmanned aerial threats is being designed and built by Lockheed Martin.
The 60-kilowatt electric laser will be integrated in a truck-mounted High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator under a U.S. Army contract worth $25 million.
Lockheed said its electric laser system uses multiple compact, fiber laser modules to generate a high power output beam. A spectral beam combining process combines the many fiber lasers into a single beam that retains the high beam quality of the individual fiber modules while reaching the 60 kilowatt mark.
The company earlier demonstrated a 30-kilowatt fiber laser, the highest power ever documented, while retaining beam quality and electrical efficiency
