Directed Energy

Weapons that emit energy in an aimed direction without the means of a projectile.

Recent Inquiries

What service labs are developing electronic warfare (EW) payloads/packages for small unmanned aircraft systems, and what companies can be leveraged to create attritable (attrition tolerant) EW payloads?

What service labs are developing electronic warfare (EW) payloads/packages for small unmanned aircraft systems (Groups 1 and 2), and what companies can be leveraged to create attritable (attrition tolerant) EW payloads?

What nonlethal and intermediate force capabilities can be integrated into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and be ready for demonstration by the first quarter of 2026?

What nonlethal and intermediate force capabilities can be integrated into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and be ready for demonstration by the first quarter of 2026?

What radio frequency threat system models exist, and how well can they account for electronic warfare?

What radio frequency threat system models exist, and how well can they account for electronic warfare?

Articles

Members of the Laser Plasma Branch at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory join visitors from fellows defense research agencies for a group photo in the NIKE target area in Washington, D.C., Oct. 25, 2024. The visit featured a tour of the NIKE laser facility to promote potential collaborative experiments in reactive materials research. (U.S. Navy photo by Sarah Peterson)

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s NIKE Laser-Target Facility Helps to Advance Department of Defense Nuclear Mission

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has announced a new strategic direction for its NIKE laser-target facility to align its world-class capabilities with the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) nuclear strategic priorities….

green laser beams

Penn State Launches Center of Excellence in Directed Energy

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State recently launched the Center of Excellence in Directed Energy (CEDE), a University-wide center designed to conduct basic research on focused energy—like lasers or microwaves—to develop new applications and build…

Rick Cross works on the Titan compressor system at the Jupiter Laser Facility. The gratings (rainbow reflection) allow the Titan laser to provide peak power while preserving the optical components of the system. (Photo: Garry McLeod/LLNL)

A Brighter Future for the Jupiter Laser Facility

Since the 1970s, the Janus laser, now part of the Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF), has served as an experimental proving ground to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) laser and fusion programs and the broader high-energy-density…

Webinars

NISAR Instrument in NASA JPL clean room

Antenna Systems for Space Applications at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Antenna developments for space applications have a long history at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Starting from the 1970s, Voyager; Galileo; Cassini; the Shutter Radar Topography mission; and, more recently,…

Supporting high-energy lasers for combat

Experimental Protective Coatings for CDEW Applications

Researchers have taken many avenues to mitigate how high-energy laser (HEL) weapons affect platform survivability because of size, weight, performance, and cost factors. Protective coatings offer a cheap, lightweight option for counter directed energy weapons…

High-Power, Radio Frequency/Microwave, Directed Energy Weapons Models and Simulations

This webinar presentation will provide a survey overview of the state of the art in modeling and simulation (M&S) tools related to researching and developing high-power, radio frequency/microwave, directed energy weapons (HPM DEWs) and evaluating…

Events

One naval vessel and eleven aircraft traveling over a body of water.

2025 Pacific Operational Science & Technology (POST) Conference

Join NDIA and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command for the 2025 Pacific Operational Science & Technology (POST) Conference. This event promises to deliver a platform for collaboration, innovation, and exploration of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)…

Image of ground vehicles in front of a background of binary code.

Cyber Electromagnetic Activity (CEMA) 2024 Conference

The 10th Annual CEMA Conference comes at a critical inflection point for electronic warfare (EW). After a 30+ year hiatus, the Army is on the cusp of fielding a variety of terrestrial and airborne EW…

EWA Technical Conference and the Dixie Crow Symposium

The 48th Dixie Crow Technical Symposium will take place at the Century of Flight Hangar Museum of Aviation, located on Robins Air Force Base (AFB), GA. Events include technical short courses, electromagnetic warfare (EW)/intelligence, surveillance,…