Boeing has successfully demonstrated that its Laser Avenger system, which uses a 1-kW solid-state laser adopted from existing commercial technology, can neutralize improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and unexploded ordnance (UXO). During the test, the system also took a step toward demonstrating a counter-unmanned-aerial-vehicle (counter-UAV) capability by destroying two small UAVs that were stationary on the ground.
According to Boeing, the laser for this system—a diode-pumped, Ytterbium (Yb) optical fiber that emits in the near-infrared spectral region—is publicly sold for laser welding and precision cutting in industrial applications. As such, the system draws upon techniques used in the driver electronics of conventional laser diodes, and the system can be supplied from a standard ac or dc source to continuously drive the laser at its 1 kW-rated output power. To sustain this operation, the laser system is equipped with a closed-loop water-cooling system.
Boeing states that the primary energy source for the laser in the Avenger system is the vehicle’s alternator, the output of which is conditioned to provide 24 Vdc to 28 Vdc at 400 A. In the present configuration of the system, this power is transformed into three-phase, 208 Vac, which is then fed directly to the laser in its commercial-shop configuration. However, a system that feeds dc directly to the laser is being planned.
The laser in Boeings’s recently demonstrated Laser Avenger system is housed in the turret of the vehicle. The beam is conducted through fiber optic cable and is emitted through the beam director, which is the large pod in the upper left region of this image (the vehicle’s upper-right side).
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"Boeing's investment strategy is to move some of its new directed-energy weapon systems into field demonstrations, and Laser Avenger is the first one we're rolling out," said Gary Fitzmire, vice president and program director of Boeing Directed Energy Systems. "Laser Avenger provides the speed-of-light and ultra-precision capability that the warfighter needs today to safely neutralize improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance."
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