Lockheed Martin develops anti-drone lasers for fighter jets

The United States Air Force has signed a contract with aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin to develop light, compact, high-energy laser weapons for fighter jets. They are intended to be used against drones, among other things.

The contract involves an investment of EUR 22.6 million. According to Lockheed Martin, the intention is that the laser weapons will be used from 2021 tested on a ‘tactical fighter jet’. This probably refers to fighter jets that, in addition to the task of taking down other jets, can also be used to attack ground targets; the JSF, better known as the F-35, also falls into this category.

Lockheed Martin installed a 60kW laser on a military ground vehicle earlier this year, but the weapons manufacturer says installing such a mobile laser system on a smaller airborne system is no small feat. The company states that high-energy laser systems in the form of weapons are now really deployable; According to Lockheed Martin, the technology is ready to be deployed in not only ground vehicles and ships, but also aircraft.

The laser weapons to be developed for fighter jets are part of the weapon manufacturer’s SHiELD program. This program is intended to arrive at a system in which laser weapons are used in fighter jets, for example to protect against incoming missiles or to bring down drones. This system consists of a control system for tracking targets, a nacelle to power and cool the laser and the high-energy laser.

Until now, laser weapons were often too large to be used in fighter jets. The US Air Force managed to shoot a ballistic missile out of the sky with a laser in 2010; this happened from the nose of a converted Boeing 747. In 2014, the US Navy commissioned its first laser weapon, the LaWS-system. This 30kW laser uses a so-called solid state laser. Targets, such as drones, are ‘warmed up’ by concentrated infrared light, causing them to explode or burn.