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The global Directed Energy Weapons market, valued at US$ 1.7 billion in 2017, is projected grow at a CAGR of 11.5%, to value US$ 4 billion by 2025. The cumulative market for global expenditure on Directed Energy Weapons is valued at US$ 21 billion over the forecast period. Directed Energy Weapons are attracting ever-increasing R&D funds and there is no military organization and branch that’s not looking into ways to integrate them into their arsenal. Find out more in this ASD report.

In preparation for Directed Energy 2019, we wanted to exclusively share these past presentations with you. Below you will find expert content on:

1. Enhancing and Developing Directed Energy Testing: Colonel Richard Haggerty, Project Manager ITTS, PEO STRI
2. Implementing DES Into the Shorad Strategy to Counter Group 1 UAS: Col (R) John Haithcock, Director, Fires Battle Lab, Fires Center of Excellence
3. Providing Distributed Lethality with Directed Energy and Kinetic Platforms: Colonel Michael “Moses” Thompson, Chief, Advanced Weapon Systems Division, ACC USAF
4. Defense Laser Weapons for Air Mobility Platforms: Dr. Donna C. Senft, Chief Scientist, Air Mobility Command, US Air Force
5. Integrating Directed Energy Technology to Counter UASs and Forward Base Defense: Dr. Michael Jirjis, Directed Energy Experimentation, Lead, Strategic Development, Planning & Experimentation, US Air Force
6. Joint Laser Systems Effectiveness Joint Test: Mr. Scott Boyd, Director JLaSE Joint Test, NSWC Dahlgren
7. Energy Storage and Power Systems for DEW Applications: Rich Schroeder, Director, Business Operations, EaglePicher Technologies
8. High Energy Laser Technology for the Multi-Domain Battlefield: Thomas Webber, Director, USASMDC/ARSTRAT Technical Center
9. AFSOC Airborne High Energy Laser Initiative: Lieutenant Colonel Oluyomi “Yomi” Faminu, Division Chief of Technology, SOCOM
10. Energy Magazines for Directed Energy Weapons and Back-up Power: Don Klick, Director Business Development, Leonardo DRS Naval Power Systems
    
    

A presentation on countering piracy with non-lethal weaponry. Discussed by RAdm. Massimo Annati, ITN (ret’d), Non-Lethal “Capabilities,” Directed Energy “Capabilities,” Laser Dazzling, and other laser tehchnology, as well as Acoustic Hailing Devices and more!

Want to learn more about what happened in 2018? Check out our Post Show Report that highlights: prominent speakers, attendee statistics, top-rated content, top takeaways from 2018, what to expect in 2019, and much more!

We sat down with Colonel Richard Haggerty and Dr. Boris Zhdanov to discuss:

• How the FY 2018 budget appropriations affected directed energy (DE) programs
• Where DE acquisition and force integration is heading in FY 2019
• Priorities for research and development  

Colonel Haggerty is the ninth Project Manager for Instrumentation, Targets, Threat Simulators and SOF Training Systems (PM ITTS) at PEO STRI, U.S. Army. Dr. Zhdanov is a Senior Scientist at the Laser and Optics Research Center (LORC) at the US Air Force Academy (USAFA).

Both Colonel Haggerty and Dr. Zhdanov spoke at the 2018 Directed Energy Systems Summit. 

The updates which took place in the directed energy space in 2016. This collection of articles further dive into the space of next generation munitions, directed energy systems (DES) and electromagnetic railguns.

We took a look at some of the latest developments taking place in the directed energy space. There has yet to be significant progress in directed energy weapons and although the technology for the most part is here, lasers have to get more efficient and reliable for contracts to be issued and operational implementation to begin. Congress has authorized roughly $2.4 billion on R&D work into new weapon technologies for 2018. This huge amount of funds is working to make lasers and railguns a reality. This infographic gives a timeline of what the US Military is currently developing to maintain its status as the world's military leader.

This interactive content is your update on the Navy's Solid State Lasers (SSLs), Electromagnetic Railguns (EMRGs), and Hyper Velocity Projectiles (HVPs). It includes the FY2017 budget, SSL, EMRG and HVP advantages, limitations and missions, depth of magazine & cost exchange ratio benefits, and more!

The U.S. Navy has released this footage of the Laser Weapon System (LaWS) Operational demonstration aboard USS Ponce. Directed Energy Systems & Next Generation Munitions will feature experts and decision-makers as well as those specializing in new naval DE solutions.

This report, from Mark Gunzinger and Chris Dougherty of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), examines DE as a particularly promising source of operational advantage for the military. The unique attributes of future DE capabilities—the ability to create precise, tailorable effects against multiple targets near-instantaneously and at a very low cost per shot—have great potential to help defence ministries break from a programme of procuring increasingly expensive military technologies with diminishing operational returns.

Last year the first Directed Energy & Next Generation Munitions event attracted a broad range of attendance from the across the US and international communities, bringing together all those actively involved in Directed Energy systems development and integration to engage with and collaborate on future projects. Take a look at the Audience breakdown to see who attended our premier event! 

Colonel Richard Haggerty, Project Manager ITTS, PEO STRI, presents on enhancing and developing DE testing. PEO STRI is the leading office in the army, collaborating with all services of the DOD and armed forces to Mature and transition DE test technologies. The office is focused and determined to enable and develop full-spectrum Test and Evaluation capabilities and fill the current and future critical testing gaps, eventually leading to the fielding of operational DE weapons systems.

Col (R) John Haithcock, Director, Fires Battle Lab, Fires Center of Excellence, presents on:

• DES battle management and fire control
• Efficient power fire and versatile applications
• Unit level DES SHORAD capabilities
  

Colonel Michael “Moses” Thompson, Chief, Advanced Weapon Systems Division, ACC USAF, presents on:

• Warfighters perspective for future requirements, capabilities and integration of DE weapon systems on fighter jets
• Enabling crew and asset survivability while increasing air superiority
• Advancements in Precise turbulence correction and laser beam pointing for mission success
  

In spite of the rapid progress of directed energy systems, there remains a wealth of uphill challenges for the market. In particular, there is an enormous amount of uncertainty when it comes to the true costs and capabilities of these systems, not to mention how much pressure other issues will place on their development, from safety to legal considerations.

Dr. Donna C. Senft, Chief Scientist, Air Mobility Command, US Air Force, presents on:

• Future plans for DE integration on air mobility assets
• Enabling global mobility and operational freedom
• Challenges and Opportunities
  

Dr. Michael Jirjis, Directed Energy Experimentation, Lead, Strategic Development, Planning & Experimentation, US Air Force, presents on:

• US Air Force flight plan
• Enabling precision engagement and interception
• Targeting group 1 and group 2 unmanned aircraft
  

This paper combines the concepts of technology, integration and manufacturing readiness levels, adapted for use in defense acquisition, into a single metric, System Readiness Level (SRL), that can be used as a clear indicator to identify areas for resource allocation to enable the most efficient and effective path to technology transition.

Mr. Scott Boyd, Director JLaSE Joint Test, NSWC Dahlgren, presents on:

• JLaSE and J-FLaME joint feasibility study update
• Integration of DEL systems into the Joint Targeting Cycle focusing on capabilities analysis, weapons, and damage estimation
• Collateral and civilian concerns for employment
  

Rich Schroeder, Director, Business Operations, EaglePicher Technologies, presents on energy storage and power systems.

Thomas Webber, Director, USASMDC/ARSTRAT Technical Center, presents on:

• Demonstrating HEL Technology on Mobile systems
• Accelerating HEL Technology to the Warfighter
• Vision for future HEL Technology Development and Fielding
  

Lieutenant Colonel Oluyomi “Yomi” Faminu, Division Chief of Technology, SOCOM, presents on the AFSOC airborne high energy laser initiative.

Don Klick, Director Business Development, Leonardo DRS Naval Power Systems,and Carlos Aguirre, Senior Manager Business Development, Leonardo DRS Land Electronics, present on energy magazines for DEW and back-up power.

Scott Boyd, Joint Test Director of NSWC Dahlgren, and MAJ Jeff Nelson, USA Deputy Test Director of JT&E present on airspace deconfliction and fire control measures, collateral and civilian concerns for employment, and the J-FLaME and JLaSE Joint Feasibility Study.

Major General John McMullen, Vice Commander of Air Combat Command, USAF, presents on the requirements for multi-domain capabilities, systems reliability and operator level maintenance, and user feedback from DES exercises and testing.

Dr. Richard Bagnell, SHiELD Program Manager for the Air Force Research Laboratory, presents on AFRLs SHiELD program update, challenges and developments for airborne DES, and future program initiatives.