Lockheed Tests New Laser Against Rockets, UAVs

Lockheed Martin Demonstrates New Ground-Based Laser System In Tests Against Rockets and Unmanned Aerial System

SUNNYVALE, Calif. --- Lockheed Martin today announced that it has successfully demonstrated a portable, ground-based military laser system in a series of tests against representative airborne targets. Lockheed Martin developed the Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) system to provide a defense against short-range threats, such as rockets and unmanned aerial systems.

Since August, the ADAM system has successfully engaged an unmanned aerial system target in flight at a range of approximately 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) and has destroyed four small-caliber rocket targets in simulated flight at a range of approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).

"Lockheed Martin has invested in the development of the ADAM system because of the enormous potential effectiveness of high-energy lasers," said Doug Graham, Lockheed Martin's vice president of advanced programs for Strategic and Missile Defense Systems. "We are committed to supporting the transition of directed energy's revolutionary capability to the war fighter."

Designed for short-range defense of high-value areas including forward operating bases, the ADAM system's 10-kilowatt fiber laser is engineered to destroy targets up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away. The system precisely tracks targets in cluttered optical environments and has a tracking range of more than 5 kilometers (3.1 miles). The system has been designed to be flexible enough to operate against rockets as a standalone system and to engage unmanned aerial systems with an external radar cue. The ADAM system's modular architecture combines commercial hardware components with the company's proprietary software in an integrated and easy-to-operate system.

"Lockheed Martin has applied its expertise as a laser weapon system integrator to provide a practical and affordable defense against serious threats to military forces and installations," said Paul Shattuck, Lockheed Martin's director of directed energy systems for Strategic and Missile Defense Systems. "In developing the ADAM system, we combined our proven laser beam control architecture with commercial hardware to create a capable, integrated laser weapon system."

Lockheed Martin has been a pioneer in the development and demonstration of high-energy laser capabilities for more than 30 years and has made key advances in areas such as precision pointing and control, line-of-sight stabilization and adaptive optics.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 120,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation's net sales for 2011 were $46.5 billion.

Lockheed to start work on USAF's GEO 4 and 5 satellites

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract to start initial work on the US Air Force's (USAF) fifth and sixth space-based infrared system (SBIRS) geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellites.

Valued at $82m, the initial contract represents the first of three GEO-5 and 6 satellite acquisition phases, and covers completion of non-recurring engineering activities and purchase of select long lead spacecraft parts by the company to help supplier production lines offer the lowest possible price for each component.

Procurement of the remaining long lead parts, as well as satellite production, is scheduled to be subsequently funded by the second and third acquisition phases under a fixed-price contract scheme.

Lockheed Martin Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) mission area vice president Jeff Smith said the contract will support a steady production rate and will significantly reduce the programme costs as the air force is procuring satellites in bulk, as opposed to one at a time.

''We understand both the importance of the SBIRS mission and the weight of the current fiscal environment - and we are committed to delivering mission success affordably and efficiently for the Air Force,'' Smith said.

The SBIRS satellites are designed to provide timely and accurate warning for missile launches to the US government, using a combination of four GEO satellites, two highly elliptical earth (HEO) payloads, as well as related ground hardware and software.

To date, Lockheed has received contracts for production of four HEO payloads, four GEO satellites, as well as ground assets for acquisition, processing and dissemination of the infrared mission data.

The SBIRS GEO-1 was launched by USAF from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station onboard an Atlas V rocket on 7 May 2011, and the GEO-2 is scheduled for launch in March 2013, while the GEO-3 and GEO-4 are currently under various stages of development.