Lockheed Martin is exploring possibilities of integrating laser weapon system onboard its next generation F-35 fighter, to boost the ste...
Lockheed Martin is exploring possibilities of integrating laser weapon system onboard its next generation F-35 fighter, to boost the stealth fighter's capability to engage airborne threats.
According to a Flightglobal report, company engineers are studying how a laser weapon could be fitted on to a supersonic aircraft and its advantages.
In future laser weapons could compliment traditional kinetic weapons in the battlefield and offer reliable protection against threats such as swarms of drones or large numbers of rockets and mortars.
Lockheed Martin plans to offer airborne version of a new generation modular 60 kW lasers which it is developing for the U.S. Army.
U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $25 million contract to design, build and test a 60-kilowatt electric laser to be integrated and tested in a truck-mounted weapon system demonstrator in 2014.
The system will enter production later this month.
The modular laser design allows the laser power to be varied across an extremely wide range 60 kW to 120 kW according to the needs of a specific mission and threat.
Lockheed Martin recently used a 30 kW laser weapon, known as ATHENA, to disable a truck.
Lockheed Martin, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the University of Notre Dame, has demonstrated the airworthiness of a new beam control turret being developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and AFRL to give 360-degree coverage for high-energy laser weapons operating on military aircraft.
A research aircraft equipped with the Aero-adaptive Aero-optic Beam Control (ABC) turret conducted eight flights in Michigan.
