In the demonstration, the 30-kilowatt fiber laser weapon was able to disable the truck’s engine. The purpose of the test was to show the company’s innovations in developing weapons technology that is more precise.
“Fiber-optics lasers are revolutionizing direct energy systems,” Keoki Jackson, Lockheed Martin’s chief technology officer, said in a statement. “We are investing in every component of the system – from the optics and beam control to the laser itself – to drive size, weight, and power efficiencies.”
ATHENA is a ground-based prototype system. In the test, the laser burnt through the engine in a just a few seconds, after being fired from over a mile away.
Through the “spectral beam combining” technique, multiple fiber laser modules come together to establish a sole, high-quality beam that “provides greater efficiency and lethality than multiple individual 10-kilowatt lasers used in other systems.”
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