An "abridged list" of current designations for Space Force systems obtained by Breaking Defense includes four "reconnaissance" systems not found in the service's fiscal 2025 budget documentation: Stargate, Snowgate, Lightgate and Shiloh.
The new weapon system, beams radio waves to “disrupt or damage” electronic equipment of enemy vehicles “causing them to stop in their tracks or fall out of the sky,” according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
Knowing when to build on commercial systems and when to develop something new can be the difference between parity and information dominance.
"There have been some really impressive results," said MDA Executive Director Laura DeSimone on recent directed energy tests.
See how Raytheon Missiles & Defense is developing high-power microwaves as part of layered air defenses.
"There’s not a lot of detail, but from what there is, there’s no need to hyperventilate," said Laura Grego, an astrophysicist at MIT.
Planned HELIOS installation comes amid congressional scrutiny of the tech and tightening contract deadlines.
“Tactical operating system” for warfighters has evolved to provide more situational awareness of the battlefield.
“We’re painting with broad strokes, but we're diving into what missions of the future will look like. The technology is not quite Star Wars, but we’re getting close,” said Jeremy Murray-Krezan, AFRL's directed energy deputy chief scientist, says.
"What we don't want to do is launch a weapon that then opens a seeker and there's nothing there, because the target has maneuvered," Vice Adm. Jon Hill, said.
"We've done about all we can do with this ship and we've maxed out the space, weight, power and cooling,” Rear Adm. Paul Schlise said. "It's time to reset to a new large surface combatant."
"We do in fact plan to deploy THOR in CY21 for operational field assessment, but will not confirm deployment locations or theaters at this time," an Air Force spokesman says.
Balancing security and access to data are critical to providing users with trustworthy, reliable data for real-time decisions.
The 2020 defense spending bill gives the Air Force $3.0 billion for the B-21 bomber program and $960 million for Next Generation Air Dominance in RDT&E money.
The space threat's the thing at this year's Space Symposium.
The rise of nationalist movements in the United States and among key allies in Europe is shaping how American defense firms do business, driving them to move weapons production overseas, Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson told reporters today.