{"id":35707,"date":"2022-08-18T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2022\/08\/18\/the-us-army-digs-a-new-sandbox-for-its-laser-weapons\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:31:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:31:05","slug":"the-us-army-digs-a-new-sandbox-for-its-laser-weapons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/battlefield-tech\/2022\/08\/18\/the-us-army-digs-a-new-sandbox-for-its-laser-weapons\/","title":{"rendered":"US Army digs new sandbox for laser weapons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. \u2014 The U.S. Army opened the doors of a one-stop shop for development and integration of directed-energy capabilities<\/a> at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, last week as the Space and Missile Defense Symposium kicked off in the same town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Directed Energy Systems Integration Laboratory, or DESIL, will help speed up and streamline laser weapons research and development as the Army seeks to incorporate the technology into combat systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simulation, component and subsystem testing, and verification and validation of overall systems can all take place in one lab at a single location, Lt. Gen. Dan Karbler, the head of the Army\u2019s Space and Missile Defense Command, told Defense News in an interview at the symposium. The lab\u2019s capabilities will help reduce technical and schedule risk for programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s not just a lab: Beyond two huge garage doors is a 400-meter outdoor range with an enormous mound of earth at one end that will serve as a test range. The mound serves as a backstop to absorb the laser energy in testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karbler, who previously led Army Test and Evaluation Command, said labs like DESIL will help shorten the process of evaluating, developing and testing new capabilities before fielding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just go right out, I test it, and then I get to analyze the results right away and fix it right away versus going out to the range, maybe doing something, but then I have to bring it all back or ship all the [hardware] back. And then I own the range time,\u201d Karbler said. \u201cSo it\u2019s going to be a much tighter circle, tighter timeline, from concept, subcomponent, component system testing, analysis, regression analysis to retesting if needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army is outfitting its Stryker combat vehicle with a 50-kilowatt laser<\/a> for short-range air defense, and it is scaling up laser capability to deliver a 300-kilowatt laser on heavy trucks <\/a>as part of its Indirect Fires Protection Capability <\/a>that will use a variety of effects to neutralize drones, cruise missiles, rockets, artillery and mortar threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\t