US is Enhancing Laser Capabilities

US is Enhancing Laser Capabilities

A pair of US Army (USA) M1126 Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles (ICV), from 2nd Platoon (PLT), Bravo (B) Company (CO), 1st Battalion (BN), 5th Infantry (INF), 25th Infantry Division (ID) (Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT)), fitted with Slat Armor cages, conduct a patrol near Mosul, Iraq. The SBCT is assigned to Task Force Freedom supporting Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.

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The US Army is enhancing its capabilities in laser air defense. Enhanced prototypes of an air-defense laser weapon will be integrated into the Army’s Stryker armored combat vehicle.

The Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office will ask Kord Technologies to produce eight prototypes of the Directed Energy Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD) system.

The prototypes must have a design that reduces overall weight and increases maintainability. It must also reportedly possess 50 kilowatts of power for effective destruction of enemy aircraft and missiles.

They are also expected to maximize all lessons learned during the July combat shoot-off, where Kord and Raytheon Technologies demonstrated the capabilities of their sophisticated laser systems, according to defensepost.com.

The first batch of four DE M-SHORAD prototypes will be delivered in 2023, while the remaining four will be handed over to the US Army in 2024.