High Energy Laser Advanced Technology Program

High Energy Laser Advanced Development under the Office of the Secretary of Defense, aims to support the Department's initiatives to build a sustainable and long-term advantage and a resilient joint force and defense ecosystem. The program element funds Directed Energy (DE) advanced technology development focused on translating technology solutions for broadly defined military problems into demonstrated performance pay-offs, increased capabilities, supportability, and affordability. The program's specific objectives include scaling the output power of DE systems to reach operationally effective power levels applicable to broad mission areas across the Department of Defense (DoD), pursuing improvements in common DE system components such as beam control & propagation, lethality & vulnerability, and efficient power and thermal management approaches. The program also complements and coordinates closely with other DoD DE efforts directed at specific Service and Agency missions.

The program's planned activities include developing, maturing, and demonstrating directed energy sources that will provide system-level performance commensurate with fieldable directed energy devices. It also aims to develop technologies that support improving beam control and beam propagation for DE weapon systems, conduct directed energy lethality & vulnerability experiments on materials, components, and targets, develop a lethality database, integrate it into a systems-level architecture plan and lethality models. Additionally, the program plans to collect lethality damage effects, vulnerability and system response data on current and future cruise missile threats of all classes for both high energy laser and high power microwave technologies. These activities are crucial in advancing technology solutions for military applications across the Department of Defense.