Aero-adaptive Aero-optic Beam control turret Photo: Air Force Research Laboratory Lockheed Martin in partnership with the Air Force Re...
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| Aero-adaptive Aero-optic Beam control turret Photo: Air Force Research Laboratory |
The turret will give a 360-degree coverage for high-energy laser weapons operating on military aircraft. The initial flight tests abroad a research aircraft equipped with the Aero-adaptive Aero-optic Beam Control (ABC) turret, validated the performance of turret through eight flights in Michigan.
All turret components met U.S. Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness requirements.
The ABC turret system is designed to allow high-energy lasers to engage enemy aircraft and missiles above, below and behind the aircraft. Lockheed Martin’s flow control and optical compensation technologies counteract the effects of turbulence caused by the protrusion of a turret from an aircraft’s fuselage.
Further flight tests over the next year will demonstrate the turret in increasingly complex operations.
The goal of the DARPA funded HELLADS program is to develop a 150 kilowatt (kW) laser weapon system that is ten times smaller and lighter than current lasers of similar power, enabling integration onto tactical aircraft to defend against and defeat ground threats.
With a weight goal of less than five kilograms per kilowatt, and volume of three cubic meters for the laser system, HELLADS seeks to enable high-energy lasers to be integrated onto tactical aircraft, significantly increasing engagement ranges compared to ground-based systems.
General Atomics is the prime contractor, with Lockheed-Martin providing integration.
