{"id":59127,"date":"2021-11-03T18:47:46","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T18:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/11\/03\/us-army-awards-boeing-general-atomics-contract-to-develop-powerful-laser-weapon\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:19:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:19:22","slug":"us-army-awards-boeing-general-atomics-contract-to-develop-powerful-laser-weapon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2021\/11\/03\/us-army-awards-boeing-general-atomics-contract-to-develop-powerful-laser-weapon\/","title":{"rendered":"US Army awards Boeing, General Atomics contract to develop powerful laser weapon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Army has awarded a Boeing and General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems team<\/a> a contract to develop a 300-kilowatt solid-state laser weapon, according to an Oct. 25 Boeing announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Distributed Gain High Energy Laser Weapon System will consist of both GA-EMS\u2019 distributed gain laser technology and Boeing\u2019s beam director and precision acquisition, tracking and pointing software. The program will culminate in a demonstration of the system for the Army\u2019s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, according to the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe high power, compact laser weapon subsystem prototype that GA-EMS will deliver under this contract will produce a lethal output greater than anything fielded to date,\u201d Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS, said in the statement. \u201cThis technology represents a leap-ahead capability for air and missile defense that is necessary to support the Army\u2019s modernization efforts and defeat next-generation threats in a multi-domain battlespace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The laser system uses two seventh-generation laser heads in \u201ca very compact and lightweight package,\u201d said Michael Perry, GA-EMS\u2019 vice president for lasers and advanced sensors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRecent architectural improvements have enabled our single-beam DG Lasers to achieve comparable beam quality to fiber lasers in a very simple design without the need for beam combination,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GA-EMS and Boeing joined forces last year to build the high-energy laser, announcing its teaming arrangement at the Association of the U.S. Army\u2019s annual conference in October. Under the agreement, the companies planned to create a 100-kilowatt laser that would be scalable to 250 kilowatts, they said at the time. The weapon would be able to operate as a stand-alone system or integrated on ground vehicles, ships and aircraft, the companies said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t