Sep 17 2010
Developer of advanced technology systems, Lockheed Martin, has been granted a $14 million contract by the U.S. Army to design and manufacture a new fiber laser-based system for military applications.
The system will be developed at the Lockheed Martin Aculight plant in Washington. The contract includes a number of options for the next six years and if exercised, the options will boost the value of the contract to $59 million.
The Robust Electric Laser Initiative (RELI) system incorporates fiber laser architecture that has the capacity to produce high-quality power of 100 kW or more for a diverse range of military and defensive applications on sea, land and air platforms. The fiber lasers consume minimum power and are compact than other kinds of lasers.
A fiber laser uses a fiber-optic cable to generate high-quality light and enclose the light within the fiber’s glass structure. This technique explains the system’s compact dimension and its capability to produce high power with minimum power consumption.
Extensive research and development in fiber lasers gave way to technological advancements, which resulted in the development of laser systems. Recent technological advancements include enhanced heat management, high beam quality and decreased power requirements. Lockheed Martin will use all these advancements to develop RELI.