Hellads integrated to GA Avenger UCAV : GA Graphics General Atomics announced that the High-Energy Liquid Laser (HELLADS) completed the...
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| Hellads integrated to GA Avenger UCAV: GA Graphics |
The achievement marks the end of the program’s laboratory development phase and the beginning of a new and challenging set of tests against rockets, mortars, vehicles and surrogate surface-to-air missiles. At WSMR, the laser will undergo an extensive series of live fire tests against a number of military targets.
The HELLADS Demonstrator Laser Weapon System (DLWS) is designed to demonstrate the efficacy of a tactical laser weapon in counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (CRAM), counter-Air and counter-Missile applications, as well as a number of special applications.
The 150 kW Class HELLADS laser has been developed over a number of years to create a completely new approach to electrically-powered lasers with sufficiently low size, weight, and power consumption to enable deployment on a number of tactical platforms.
In September 2014, Lockheed Martin in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the University of Notre Dame, has demonstrated the airworthiness of the new beam control turret for the HELLADS.
The HELLADS laser was developed through a series of stage/gate phases beginning with a physics demonstration and progressing through a series of laser demonstrators at increasing power levels. At each stage, DARPA required beam quality, laser power, efficiency, size, and weight objectives to be demonstrated.
The program also developed the world’s highest brightness laser diodes, compact battery storage, and thermal storage systems, and improved the manufacturing process and size of specialized laser materials and optics.
The prime contractor, GA has demonstrated, second and third Generation versions of the technology which significantly increase the efficiency and reduce the size, weight, and power consumption for the system while increasing the beam quality. The third Generation system is currently being incorporated into a Tactical Laser Weapon Module designed for integration into both manned and unmanned aircraft systems.
