GA-ASI's Gen 3 HEL system evaluated
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' (GA ASI) Gen 3 High Energy Laser (HEL) system has undergone beam quality and power evaluations, the company announced on 8 April.
The evaluation was carried out by an independent measurement team contracted by the US government, using the Joint Technology Office (JTO) Government Diagnostic System (GDS). The Gen 3 HEL is the third generation of technology developed under the High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System (HELLADS) programme.
Jack Slater, JTO, said: 'The system produced the best beam quality from a high energy laser that we have yet measured with the GDS. We were impressed to see that the beam quality remained constant with increasing output power and run-time.'
Following this evaluation, the team will use the GDS again to conduct beam quality measurements of the GA-ASI HELLADS Demonstrator Laser Weapon System (DLWS). The HELLADS DLWS includes a 150kW class laser with integrated power and thermal management.
The Gen 3 HEL features upgrades from previous generations that improve its beam quality, increase its electrical to optical efficiency and reduce its size and weight. It is powered by a Lithium-ion battery supply designed to demonstrate a deployable architecture for tactical platforms.
The tested Gen 3 HEL was for the Tactical Laser Weapon Module (TLWM) currently under development. TLWM is designed for use on airborne, sea and land platforms and will be available in four versions with 50kW, 75kW, 150kW and 300kW laser outputs.
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