Boeing and General Atomics Unveil Partnership to Build New Laser Weapon

General Atomics and Boeing have forged a partnership to make a new high-energy laser system for air and missile defense networks.

The collaboration calls for the companies to build a 100-kilowatt laser weapon that can be used as a standalone system or placed in ground vehicles, ships and aircraft. The technology can be upgraded to 250 kw for future requirements.

GA subsidiary General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems will be tasked with the laser, batteries and thermal management system. The beam director and the laser tracking and pointing software will be made by Boeing.

Scott Forney, GA-EMS president, said the company has made major improvements in making scalable laser technologies to allow high output power in small and lightweight packages.

“We look forward to working with Boeing to deliver a laser weapon system with capabilities designed to meet current operational requirements while providing the flexibility and adaptability to suit emerging platform requirements supporting missions across a multi-domain battlespace,” he said.

Norm Tew, vice president and general manager for Boeing missile and weapon systems, said the team-up will provide the warfighters laser force protection capability in support of future requirements and modernization efforts.

Previously, the two companies announced plans to join forces against Lockheed Martin and a Northrop Grumman-Raytheon Technologies group in a competition for the Missile Defense Agency’s Next Generation Interceptor program.

The amount of power that the two organizations aim to reach with the laser system reportedly matches that of the U.S. Army’s target level in the High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle Demonstrator program.

The agency has tasked Dynetics and Lockheed Martin to construct the first HEL TVD demonstrator, a 100-kw-class laser that will be incorporated in a Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles platform. The service branch intends to design a 250-kw to 300-kw-class directed-energy weapons in the near future.

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