Two defense companies with major Huntsville operations have been selected to help develop the U.S. military’s next generation of directed energy weapon systems under a new program that could be worth up to $847 million.
The Department of War announced Thursday it awarded Joint Laser Weapon System (JLWS) Other Transaction Authority agreements to nLIGHT Defense and Lockheed Martin Aculight to accelerate development of high-energy laser weapons designed to counter cruise missiles and unmanned aerial systems.
The initial awards are valued at $86 million, with the overall program carrying a ceiling of $847 million as prototype development advances toward production.
The program is being led by the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering’s Scaled Directed Energy Critical Technology Area, which aims to transition directed energy weapons from demonstration systems into deployable operational platforms.
Department officials said the laser systems are intended to provide combatant commanders with a scalable, lower-cost alternative to traditional missile interceptors, offering “speed-of-light” engagements, deep magazines and significantly lower costs per intercept against large drone swarms and cruise missile threats.
“We must actively defend the homeland against emerging threats,” said Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael. “We are partnering with industry to rapidly deliver deep magazine directed energy capabilities to the Joint Force that can be seamlessly deployed across multiple domains.”
Initial prototypes will produce approximately 150 kilowatts of power, with future versions expected to scale between 300 and 500 kilowatts for cruise missile defense missions. The Department also plans to develop a fully integrated 500-kilowatt system using technology from its High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative.
Officials said the systems will be built in containerized configurations that can be integrated onto both ground and naval platforms, allowing rapid deployment across multiple combatant commands.
The Department is using an Other Transaction Authority acquisition approach, which is designed to speed development by allowing more flexible contracting and rapid prototyping than traditional defense procurement processes.
nLIGHT Defense operates a high-power semiconductor and laser manufacturing facility in Huntsville and has played a significant role in developing high-energy laser technology for the U.S. Army, including work on the Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense program.
Aculight headquarters is based in Bothell, Washington, while the engineering, testing, and system integration work for Aculight’s Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High Energy Laser (HEL) projects is supported by Lockheed Martin’s operations in Huntsville, Alabama.
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