Real, publicly documented directed-energy programs and who’s building them — SAIC Leidos, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, L3 Harris, BAE, DoD, USAF, AFRL, Boeing, Lockheed Martin — what a Big Party!
Companies’ Named Systems (HEL = high-energy laser, HPM = high-power microwave)
RTX / Raytheon (formerly Raytheon Missiles & Defense)
- HELWS (High-Energy Laser Weapon System): mobile counter-UAS laser. (RTX)
- PHASER (HPM): truck-mounted counter-drone microwave demonstrator. (RTX)
- CHIMERA (HPM): Raytheon’s current high-power microwave line; RTX highlights recent field tests. (RTX)
Lockheed Martin
- HELIOS (HEL, U.S. Navy): ship-integrated laser + dazzler tied into Aegis combat system. (Wikipedia)
- DEIMOS (HEL ~50 kW, U.S. Army): laser for the Stryker M-SHORAD mission; “first light” achieved. (Media – Lockheed Martin)
- IFPC-HEL / “Valkyrie” (HEL ~300 kW-class): Army program for fixed/semi-fixed site defense; Lockheed under contract to deliver up to four 300 kW-class systems; earlier delivered a 300 kW laser under HELSI. (Media – Lockheed Martin)
- SHiELD / LANCE (airborne laser pod): Lockheed delivered LANCE; USAF has since wound down the broader SHiELD flight-demo ambitions. (Breaking Defense)
Northrop Grumman
- LWSD (SSL-TM) (HEL ~150 kW class): Laser Weapon System Demonstrator installed on USS Portland. (Northrop Grumman)
Boeing
- CLWS / CLaWS (Compact Laser Weapon System): modular laser used in multiple demos and Marine Corps prototyping. (Boeing)
- CHAMP (HPM): AFRL/Boeing “Counter-electronics High-Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project”; follow-on HiJENKS joint USAF/USN tests. (C4ISRNET)
L3Harris
- Known for beam directors / beam control and large precision optics for DE systems (a critical subsystem many primes integrate). (L3Harris® Fast. Forward.)
KBR / Kord (Army RCCTO prime integrator)
- DE M-SHORAD (HEL ~50 kW on Stryker): Army laser Stryker prototype vehicles; Kord is the integrator with RTX providing the laser. (Dote)
Epirus (startup)
- Leonidas (HPM): counter-drone HPM system; Army prototyping and recent funding rounds to scale production. (Axios)
International touchpoints (for context)
- UK DragonFire (MBDA/Leonardo/QinetiQ): Royal Navy-bound laser demonstrator headed toward ship installs ~2027. (Leonardo UK)
- Rafael “Iron Beam” (Israel): ~100 kW-class laser air-defense family; ongoing production/fielding push. (Rafael)
HPM-specific government programs (counter-drone/sensors-kill focus)
- THOR (AFRL): containerized HPM that downed swarming drones in tests; follow-on Mjölnir program awarded. (AFRL)
- CHAMP → HiJENKS (AFRL/USN): successor HPM missile payload testing (“capstone test” reported 2022). (C4ISRNET)
- MINOS neutrino physics experiment (Fermilab). (Wikipedia)
More related/legacy DE efforts you might want on your radar
- HELLADS (DARPA/General Atomics): 150 kW laser development lineage. (DARPA)
- ODIN (USN dazzler): optical-sensor dazzler fielded to destroyers (non-hard-kill). (Wikipedia)
- HELCAP (USN): 300 kW-class laser project for counter-anti-ship cruise missile testing. (Naval News)
Raytheon (RTX) directed-energy deep dive
Raytheon’s directed-energy lineup
HELWS (High-Energy Laser Weapon System) – Raytheon’s mobile laser family for counter-UAS / short-range air defense. Fielded in multiple configs (Polaris MRZR, containerized, vehicle-borne). USAF has evaluated HELWS in the field; Raytheon markets it for c-UAS, C-RAM, and ISR kill. (RTX)
DE M-SHORAD (Stryker-mounted 50 kW-class laser) – Army program integrated by Kord (KBR) with Raytheon providing the 50-kW-class laser module, beam director, EO/IR targeting, and Ku720 radar; live-fire events included defeating 60 mm mortars and drones. (Optics.org)
HELWS paired with NASAMS – Raytheon demoed cueing/engagement with the NASAMS air-defense network to burn down drone swarms, showing how the laser can plug into existing command-and-control. (RTX)
PHASER (HPM) – Transportable high-power microwave counter-electronics system (containerized dish antenna). USAF awarded a $16.2 M contract in 2019 for a prototype and OCONUS field assessment; Raytheon positions PHASER as a c-UAS effector that can operate alongside HELWS. (Default)
CHIMERA (HPM) – Newer high-power microwave line. In early 2024, AFRL and Raytheon completed a three-week White Sands field test demonstrating end-to-end fire control and directed-energy effects on targets. (RTX)
Corporate HPM/DE overview – RTX’s own HPM page (news/features) gathers the CHIMERA test updates and related microwave antenna work. Useful as a hub for ongoing announcements. (RTX)
What’s inside (Raytheon tech stack you’ll see repeated)
- Beam control + EO/IR: Multi-Spectral Targeting System (MTS) adapted for laser pointing/tracking on HELWS.
- Organic sensing: Ku720 multi-mission radar on DE M-SHORAD, integrated with the laser weapon module and beam director. (RTX)
- Modular effectors: Raytheon positions HEL (burn) and HPM (electronics kill) as complementary effectors that can be used independently or together for layered c-UAS defense. (RTX)
Milestones & who’s using what (quick timeline)
- 2019 – USAF awards Raytheon $16.2 M for a PHASER HPM prototype & field assessment. (Default)
- 2020 – USAF evaluation slate includes Raytheon HELWS, Raytheon PHASER, and AFRL THOR (for comparison). (edwards.af.mil)
- 2021–2022 – DE M-SHORAD live-fires: Stryker-mounted 50 kW-class Raytheon laser defeats mortars and UAS during Army events. (PR Newswire)
- 2022 – HELWS demonstrated networked with NASAMS to kill drone swarms. (RTX)
- 2024 – CHIMERA completes a three-week AFRL/Raytheon field test at White Sands (HPM). (RTX)
Where this points (uses & effects)
- HELWS / DE M-SHORAD: hard-kill burn-through of airframes/sensors, especially Group 1–3 UAS; plug-and-fight with Army/USAF C2. (RTX)
- PHASER / CHIMERA (HPM): non-kinetic “mission kill” by coupling RF energy into target electronics; attractive for swarm suppression and magazine depth. (RTX)
Lockheed Martin directed-energy roll-up—names, missions, power class (when public), and where each program sits right now.
Navy (shipboard)
- HELIOS — High-Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance. First ship is USS Preble (DDG-88); the Navy disclosed a FY-2024 shoot-down of an aerial drone with HELIOS, and additional testing was reported in early 2025. Lockheed’s white paper and Navy/press coverage cite ~60 kW, scalable toward ~120 kW, integrated with Aegis. (Lockheed Martin)
- LLD (Layered Laser Defense) — ONR/Lockheed demonstrator that shot down a subsonic cruise-missile surrogate and multiple UAS at White Sands (Apr 2022); intended for ship defenses and harbor/expeditionary use. (Office of Naval Research)
Army (ground)
- IFPC-HEL (300 kW-class) — The Army’s fixed/semi-fixed Indirect Fire Protection Capability – High Energy Laser. Lockheed won in Oct 2023 to deliver up to four 300 kW-class laser weapon systems; this builds on Lockheed’s 300 kW delivery in 2022 under DoD’s HELSI scaling effort, with work under way to push toward ~500 kW. (Media – Lockheed Martin)
- DEIMOS — Directed Energy Interceptor for Maneuver SHORAD (Stryker-class c-UAS / C-RAM laser). Lockheed achieved “first light” in Jan 2023, confirming optical performance vs. design; this is the company’s current maneuver force laser for short-range air defense. (Media – Lockheed Martin)
Air Force (airborne / podded)
- SHiELD / LANCE — Lockheed delivered the LANCE compact laser to AFRL in Feb 2022 as the laser for the SHiELD pod family; in May 2024 AFRL said SHiELD has concluded with no further flight testing planned. (Useful lineage even if the flight plan ended.) (Breaking Defense)
Legacy Lockheed demonstrators (the lineage)
- ADAM — Area Defense Anti-Munitions (≈10 kW fiber-laser testbed, 2012–2014). Downed Qassam-style rockets (~1.5–2 km) and disabled small boats in trials; established Lockheed’s fiber-laser + beam-control playbook. (Optics.org)
- ATHENA — Advanced Test High Energy Asset (follow-on lab/test range system). 2017 trials at White Sands demonstrated rapid defeats against aerial targets/engines; part of the maturation toward higher-power fiber-combined lasers. (Media – Lockheed Martin)
Tech stack themes across Lockheed DE
- Fiber-laser spectral beam combining to scale power while keeping beam quality—evident in HELSI’s 300 kW delivery and stated roadmap to ~500 kW. (Optics.org)
- Tight C2/sensor integration (Aegis for HELIOS; Army IFPC architecture for 300 kW-class), enabling cueing from existing radars/EO. (Lockheed Martin)
Northrop Grumman directed-energy (DE) picture—platforms, programs, subsystems.
Flagship systems & programs
- LWSD (Laser Weapon System Demonstrator) — the Navy’s 150-kW-class solid-state laser under SSL-TM (Solid-State Laser – Technology Maturation). Northrop built and integrated LWSD aboard USS Portland (LPD-27); the Navy released videos of successful engagements in 2020 (UAV) and 2021 (surface target) during Gulf of Aden ops. Northrop’s data sheet calls it “the most powerful electric high-energy laser system ever deployed on a U.S. Navy ship.” (Northrop Grumman)
- HELSI (High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative) — DoD effort to push ~300 kW-class electric lasers. Northrop won a $72M award (Mar 2021) and completed PDR in 2022; public material highlights coherent beam combining to scale power while preserving beam quality. (Northrop Grumman News)
- SHiELD (USAF airborne laser) — three-part podded system; Northrop provided the beam-control/turret under STRAFE while Lockheed supplied the LANCE laser and Boeing the pod. AFRL has since confirmed SHiELD’s conclusion (no further flights), but the beam-control work is core NG DE IP. (defence.nridigital.com)
- DIRCM / LAIRCM (AN/AAQ-24 family) — Northrop’s directional IR countermeasures use eye-safe lasers to jam heat-seeking missile seekers; variants protect U.S. and allied fixed/rotary aircraft. DoN-LAIRCM is the Navy program of record; Northrop also fielded the Guardian commercial airliner pod derived from AN/AAQ-24. (This is lower-power “directed energy,” but it’s one of the most widely fielded laser defenses in the world.) (Northrop Grumman)
Lineage & milestones that put NG at the table
- ABL / YAL-1 — Northrop (via TRW acquisition) built the megawatt-class COIL high-energy laser for the Airborne Laser 747 program; the testbed shot down ballistic-missile targets in 2010. (Forecast International)
- Electric high-energy laser breakthroughs — Northrop’s solid-state laser work hit >100 kW class by 2009 (electric, not chemical), an inflection point for practical fielding. (WIRED)
- Company “laser firsts” (snapshot): THEL testbed mortar shoot-downs; JHPSSL record runs; the FIRESTRIKE modular solid-state laser line—this is the tech base that fed SSL-TM and HELSI. (Northrop Grumman)
Subsystems Northrop brings (often embedded in others’ programs)
- Beam control / fire control — precision pointers, fast steering mirrors, atmospheric compensation, and ruggedized turrets (e.g., STRAFE for SHiELD). (defence.nridigital.com)
- High-power laser sources — fiber/solid-state architectures and coherent beam combining for HELSI-class scaling. (Northrop Grumman News)
- Aircraft self-protection lasers — DIRCM/LAIRCM families (jam seekers with modulated IR laser energy). (Northrop Grumman)
What Northrop is not (recent program notes)
- Army DE M-SHORAD 50 kW on Stryker — Northrop exited that competition in 2021; the Army moved forward with a Kord/Raytheon team. (NG is still active in HELSI and shipboard work.) (Defense News)
Why this matters (capability snapshot)
- Sea — LWSD shows shipboard hard-kill laser defeats (UAS/surface craft) and the maturity of Northrop’s laser + beam-control stack for fleet defense. (Navy)
- Air — Even as SHiELD winds down, Northrop’s beam-control work and DIRCM/LAIRCM remain widely fielded, combat-relevant directed-energy defenses. (defence.nridigital.com)
- Scaling to higher power — HELSI’s 300 kW-class path with coherent beam combining is aimed at threats beyond small drones (e.g., rockets, some cruise-missile classes) as power/beam quality and dwell improve. (Northrop Grumman News)
L3Harris directed-energy (DE) picture—what they actually build, where their hardware shows up, and specific programs.
What L3Harris actually sells into DE
- Beam directors & beam-control optics (the “hands on the gimbal” that steer and stabilize the laser): L3Harris (ex-L-3 Brashear / Integrated Optical Systems) markets beam directors as a core product line for HEL weapons. (L3Harris® Fast. Forward.)
- Precision optics stack used in HELs: fast-steering mirrors, high-energy-laser optics/coatings, relay mirrors, large lightweight mirrors. (L3Harris® Fast. Forward.)
- EO/IR turrets & trackers (WESCAM MX-series) that cue/track targets for weapon control loops. (Not a laser effector—but often part of the same kill chain.) (L3Harris® Fast. Forward.)
- Soldier lasers & designators (e.g., ATPIAL/AN-PEQ-15, NGAL). These aren’t HELs but show deep laser manufacturing heritage. (Tactical Night Vision Company)
- RF/MW building blocks useful around HPM/EW systems (wideband microwave receivers; true-time-delay beamformers for phased arrays). (L3Harris® Fast. Forward.)
Named programs where L3Harris (Brashear/IOS) tech is documented
- Canadian DRDC HEL Beam Director — trailer-mounted high-energy beam director delivered by L-3 Brashear to Defence Research and Development Canada (HEL lab/field work). (Laser Focus World)
- AFRL Relay Mirror Experiment — AFRL’s laser beam director for the relay-mirror program was designed, built, deployed and refurbished by L3Harris. (L3Harris® Fast. Forward.)
- HEL/DE lineage called out by DEPS — an industry/DEPS brochure lists L-3 Brashear tech in a string of U.S. HEL efforts: LaWS (Navy), SSL-TM (precursor path to the Navy’s LWSD on USS Portland), GBAD (USMC), Maritime Laser Demonstration (MLD), Lightweight Beam Director (LWBD), THEL/M-THEL, ABL (YAL-1), ATL, etc. (This is vendor material—but it’s the cleanest public admission tying Brashear hardware across many first-gen HELs.) (protected.networkshosting.com)
L3Harris’ own corporate material also claims they “pioneered the high-energy beam director for every major U.S. directed-energy system.” Treat as marketing, but it aligns with the program list above. (L3Harris® Fast. Forward.)
Why they matter (industrial-base reality)
- Beam directors are a chokepoint. NDIA’s 2024 DE supply-chain study flags beam directors (precision gimbals + large HEL-coated optics + ultra-low-jitter pointing) as a critical vulnerability with few suppliers—that’s exactly L3Harris’ niche. (ndia.org)
- Optics & controls expertise travels across programs. Even when Lockheed/Northrop/RTX are the primes on HELIOS, LWSD/SSL-TM, IFPC-HEL, DE M-SHORAD, the beam-director/precision-optics class of hardware that L3Harris builds is the same type of subassembly those systems require. (Use the DEPS/NDIA sources above as your breadcrumb trail.) (protected.networkshosting.com)
Extra breadcrumbs (how to spot L3Harris in docs)
- Look for contract line items or SBIR topics referencing “HEL Beam Director,” “fast-steering mirror,” “relay mirror,” “pointing & tracking,” “atmospheric compensation optics,” “Integrated Optical Systems (IOS),” or “Brashear.” Navy/ONR and AFRL DE pages and SBIR calls repeatedly describe these subsystems. (Office of Naval Research)
Boeing directed-energy (DE) roll-up you asked for—programs, what each does, and Boeing’s role (prime vs. subsystem).
High-power microwave (HPM)
- CHAMP — Counter-electronics High-Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project: AFRL + Boeing air-launched HPM payload designed to mission-kill electronics. Boeing announced a multi-target test success on Oct 22, 2012. (Wikipedia)
- HiJENKS — High-Powered Joint Electromagnetic Non-Kinetic Strike Weapon: AFRL/ONR successor to CHAMP; capstone tests in 2022. Smaller, more rugged HPM package for broader carriers. (USG has not publicly named a prime in open sources.) (C4ISRNET)
High-energy lasers (HEL)
- CLWS / CLaWS — Compact Laser Weapon System: Boeing’s portable, modular laser for counter-UAS; used by the U.S. Marine Corps (DoD’s first ground-based laser approved for use by ground troops). Recent demos include Group-3 drone kills and overseas exercises. Sustainment contracts confirm USMC inventory. (Boeing)
- HEL MD — High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator: Boeing’s truck-mounted laser for Army RAM/UAS defense; 2013–2014 tests at White Sands and Eglin showed mortar & UAV defeats, including in wind/fog. (U.S. Army)
- Laser Avenger — Laser mounted on an Avenger air-defense vehicle; 2009 tests shot down a UAV and engaged ground targets. (MediaRoom)
- YAL-1 / ABL — Airborne Laser on a modified Boeing 747-400F; Boeing was prime integrator for the aircraft and battle-management; 2010 shoot-downs of ballistic-missile targets; program later canceled. (Wikipedia)
- Free-Electron Laser (FEL) — ONR program; Boeing completed preliminary design and received follow-on tasking for a 100 kW lab demonstrator circa 2010–2011. (A Navy R&D path; not fielded.) (MediaRoom)
Air Force podded laser (Boeing’s subsystem role)
- SHiELD — Self-Protect High-Energy Laser Demonstrator: three sub-systems
- LANCE laser (Lockheed),
- STRAFE beam control (Northrop),
- LPRD pod (Boeing).
USAF received Boeing’s pod in Feb 2021; by May 2024 AFRL said the program concluded with no further flight testing planned. (Breaking Defense)
What Boeing brings (themes you’ll see across programs)
- Systems integration & platforms (ABL 747, SHiELD pod, HEL MD vehicle, CLWS kits). (Boeing Images)
- Counter-UAS focus from low-power, portable CLWS up through truck-mounted HEL MD, with hundreds of UAS defeats reported in demos/exercises. (cuashub.com)
- Non-kinetic electronics kill lineage via CHAMP → HiJENKS. (Wikipedia)
Quick timeline (anchor dates)
- 2009 — Laser Avenger downs UAV at White Sands. (MediaRoom)
- 2010 — ABL/YAL-1 destroys two test missiles; ONR taps Boeing for FEL preliminary design & lab demonstrator work. (Wikipedia)
- 2013–2014 — HEL MD defeats mortars/UAVs (White Sands; Eglin). (U.S. Army)
- 2019–2021 — CLaWS/CLWS in USMC hands; sustainment/upgrade deals. (marcorsyscom.marines.mil)
- 2012 → 2022 — CHAMP test → HiJENKS capstone test window. (Wikipedia)
- 2024–2025 — Boeing highlights CLWS Group-3 kills and continued demos; SHiELD formally wound down by AFRL. (Boeing)
SAIC / Leidos
Here’s the intel on Leidos (incl. Dynetics) and SAIC in directed energy—names, roles, programs, power domains, and where they plug into DoD test ranges.
Leidos (incl. its 2020 acquisition, Dynetics)
What they build / claim
- HPM sources & c-UAS effectors. Leidos publicly says its engineers “led the design, development, and testing of the HPM source” for AFRL’s THOR (Tactical High-power Operational Responder) and that it supports source O&M during T&E. The same brochure unveils a man-portable HPM called TIGER (Time-Integrated Gigawatt Electromagnetic Response).
- HEL system integration & scaling. Leidos’ LInC fact sheet says it develops both HPM and HEL tech, including combining multiple fiber lasers into a single high-energy beam (a standard path to higher-power electric lasers). (Leidos)
Programs you can name
- THOR (AFRL HPM c-UAS): Leidos claims the HPM source lead role on the AFRL system. (THOR demos ran out of Kirtland AFB/WSMR.)
- IFPC-HEL (Army 300 kW-class laser): In 2020 Dynetics (now Leidos) said it was the prime to build and integrate the 300 kW-class demonstrator for RCCTO, with FY-22 demo / FY-24 residual combat capability targets. In Oct 2023, the Army awarded Lockheed Martin to deliver up to four 300 kW-class IFPC-HEL prototypes—so Dynetics/Leidos’ role was the earlier demonstrator phase; Lockheed owns the current prototypes. (Leidos)
- AFRL “Genesis Chamber” (2024): Leidos won a $13.1M AFRL Directed Energy Directorate award to advance DE tech toward transition. (Leidos)
Where they test / integrate
- Kirtland AFB & White Sands: THOR source work + field testing; IFPC-HEL integration and WSMR live-fires called out in Leidos/Dynetics material. (Leidos)
Corporate moves that matter
- Leidos ⇄ Dynetics (Jan 2020): $1.65B acquisition that brought in weapons and test engineering depth (hypersonics, DE, etc.). (Leidos)
SAIC (Science Applications International Corp.)
What they build / do in DE
- HPM R&D and components. SAIC has a long AFRL history; notable awards include a 2005 Air Force effort “to develop high-power microwave” technology and a 2008 AFRL $49M contract to “advance directed energy technology,” explicitly mentioning HPM sources, pulsed-power conditioning, antennas, and high-energy-density plasma sources. (Military Aerospace)
- Laser bioeffects & safety. In 2019 SAIC won a $58M AFRL Optical Radiation Bioeffects & Safety contract—research on laser bioeffects, vision science, and safety engineering (the “human-effects” side of HEL). (washingtonexec.com)
- IR countermeasures R&D (laser-adjacent). Also in 2008, SAIC landed a $45M AFRL contract for infrared countermeasure technology (DIRCM/laser-jammer-related research lines). (Global Security)
Where they show up
- Kirtland AFB / AFRL DE Directorate is the recurring customer in SAIC press and trade write-ups, tying SAIC to HPM and laser R&D, modeling, and facilities improvements. (AFCEA)
Relationship between the two (why both names appear in DE stories)
- In Sept 2013 the original SAIC split: the larger tech business became Leidos (retaining the legacy history), while a new services-focused company kept the SAIC name. Many “old SAIC” DE teams and past performance therefore sit under Leidos today, with SAIC continuing as a separate integrator that still wins AFRL DE R&D work (e.g., bioeffects). (SEC)
Cheat sheet
- Leidos: THOR HPM source lead; TIGER man-portable HPM; IFPC-HEL (Dynetics prime for the 300 kW demonstrator phase); Genesis Chamber AFRL DE award.
- SAIC: AFRL HPM development (2005); AFRL DE $49M tech-advancement award (2008) detailing HPM sources & pulsed power; AFRL $58M laser bioeffects & safety (2019). (Military Aerospace)
USAF-directed-energy landscape by base / site + program names, technologies.
Kirtland AFB, New Mexico (USAF’s DE hub)
Who/what lives here
- AFRL Directed Energy Directorate (AFRL/RD) — USAF center of expertise for high-energy lasers (HEL), high-power microwaves (HPM), adaptive optics, space electro-optics. Divisions include High Power Microwave, Lasers, Space Electro-Optics, etc. (kirtland.af.mil)
- Starfire Optical Range (SOR) — laser-guide-star adaptive optics, 3.5-m telescope (DoD’s #2 largest). (kirtland.af.mil)
- Chestnut Test Site (on Kirtland) — venue for recent HPM swarm demos. (afrl.af.mil)
Programs & tech you can pin to Kirtland
- THOR (Tactical High-power Operational Responder, HPM counter-UAS) — built/run out of Kirtland; swarm demo Apr 5, 2023. Follow-on: Mjölnir. (afrl.af.mil)
- CHAMP (Counter-electronics High-Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project, HPM) — AFRL/RD program lineage. Successor: HiJENKS (USAF/USN capstone tests 2022). (kirtland.af.mil)
- ADS / Active Denial System (95 GHz millimeter-wave “heat ray,” non-lethal) — developed under AFRL at Kirtland. (digitalcommons.ndu.edu)
- GRAILE-II (government radiometric instrument to validate high-power HEL performance) — built by AFRL/RD at Kirtland, Jan 2024. (DVIDS)
- DEKE-DEUCE (Directed- vs Kinetic-energy wargaming experiment) — hosted by AFRL/RD at Kirtland, Jan 2022. (U.S. Air Force)
Holloman AFB, New Mexico (USAF test force gateway to White Sands)
Who/what lives here
- 704th Test Group (AEDC) & the Directed Energy Combined Test Force (DE CTF) — USAF T&E engineers who plan/oversee HEL & HPM tests across DoD ranges. (holloman.af.mil)
- Works closely with White Sands Missile Range – HELSTF (High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility) for live-fire laser/HPM effects testing. (atec.army.mil)
Programs & tech
- ADS and ATL (Advanced Tactical Laser, C-130H chemical laser testbed) are in DE-CTF’s historical portfolio; ATL sorties launched from Kirtland and fired over WSMR. (holloman.af.mil)
Edwards AFB, California (flight-test home for airborne lasers)
Programs & tech
- YAL-1 / Airborne Laser Test Bed (ABL) — 747-400F with COIL megawatt-class laser; long-running at Edwards; boost-phase intercept demos in 2010; retired via Edwards in 2012. (aftc.af.mil)
Eglin AFB, Florida (range & flight testing, AFRL ties)
Programs & tech
- AFRL completed flight tests of a new airborne laser beam-director concept (2023). (eglin.af.mil)
- AFTC/Eglin added new test instrumentation supporting “laser-directed energy” transmissions (2022). (eglin.af.mil)
- AFRL/RD ran DEKE-DEUCE wargame with Munitions Directorate (announced via Eglin channel). (eglin.af.mil)
Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (modeling/training brain-trust)
Who/what
- AFIT Center for Directed Energy (CDE) — models, V&V, short courses. Tools include HELEEOS (High-Energy Laser End-to-End Operational Simulation) and LEEDR atmospheric models used across DoD. (afit.edu)
Moody AFB, Georgia (field user evals)
Programs & tech
- ADS operational/user testing with Security Forces (2007); USAF safety/performance results published 2008. (U.S. Air Force)
Tinker AFB, Oklahoma (sustainment HQ; DE test oversight touchpoint)
Who/what
- Air Force Sustainment Center / OC-ALC (depot & software sustainment; not a DE lab). (Tinker Air Force Base)
- DE Combined Test Force activities have been publicized on Tinker’s site: oversight of an overseas c-UAS DE experiment (HELWS2/H2) under USAF SDPE (2020–2021). (Tinker Air Force Base)
AFRL’s Maui site (AMOS) — not an AFB, but part of AFRL/RD
What it is
- AMOS (Air Force Maui Optical & Supercomputing Site) at Haleakalā: AEOS 3.67-m telescope (DoD’s largest), space-domain awareness optics, laser propagation research; ongoing AMOS-STAR small-telescope project proposal (2024). (afresearchlab.com)
Program/name checklist (USAF-tied DE you can cite)
- HPM counter-electronics: THOR, Mjölnir, CHAMP → HiJENKS. (afrl.af.mil)
- HEL (air/ground/ship lineage, USAF touchpoints): YAL-1 ABL (Edwards), ATL (Kirtland→WSMR), plus beam-director flight tests & laser transmission instrumentation at Eglin. (aftc.af.mil)
- Non-lethal millimeter-wave: Active Denial System (AFRL Kirtland; tested at Moody; Joint NLW program). (digitalcommons.ndu.edu)
- Modeling / tools: HELEEOS / LEEDR (AFIT/CDE), GRAILE-II (AFRL/RD). (afit.edu)
- Wargaming / experimentation: DEKE-DEUCE (AFRL/RD). (U.S. Air Force)
Technologies (what USAF is actually working with)
- High-Power Microwave (HPM): pulsed narrowband/band-agile sources for counter-electronics; containerized base-defense systems and missile-payload concepts. (THOR/Mjölnir, CHAMP/HiJENKS). (afrl.af.mil)
- High-Energy Lasers (HEL): electric fiber-combined and legacy chemical (COIL) lasers; beam control (fast-steering mirrors, adaptive optics), radiometry/diagnostics (GRAILE-II). (aftc.af.mil)
- Millimeter-wave (95 GHz): Active Denial non-lethal area denial. (ETH Zurich Files)
- Space electro-optics / adaptive optics: SOR (Kirtland) and AMOS (Maui) for laser propagation, SDA, image-resolution through turbulence. (afresearchlab.com)
TL;DR by base
- Kirtland AFB = AFRL/RD HQ; THOR/Mjölnir, CHAMP lineage, ADS, SOR, GRAILE-II, DE wargaming. (kirtland.af.mil)
- Holloman AFB / WSMR = DE Combined Test Force; HELSTF; ADS/ATL test heritage. (holloman.af.mil)
- Edwards AFB = YAL-1 flight-test home. (aftc.af.mil)
- Eglin AFB = DE flight tests (airborne beam director), new laser-transmission test instrumentation; AFRL announcements. (eglin.af.mil)
- Wright-Patterson AFB = AFIT/CDE models & courses (HELEEOS/LEEDR). (afit.edu)
- Moody AFB = ADS user testing. (U.S. Air Force)
- Tinker AFB = sustainment HQ; publicized DE CTF oversight of c-UAS HELWS2/H2 experiment. (Tinker Air Force Base)
- Maui (AMOS) = AFRL/RD site with DoD’s largest optical telescope (AEOS), SDA/laser propagation research. (afrl.af.mil)
