October 16, 2006 :: Spacewar.com :: News
Northrop Grumman reports that it has recently demonstrated a next-generation, solid-state laser known as the Strategic Illuminator Laser (SILL), now considered the most powerful continuously pulsed laser ever built. The SILL program, funded by the Missile Defense Agency since 2004, successfully demonstrated multi-kilowatt-class average output power, operating at 5 kHz, with sufficient beam quality for a run time of five minutes.
Illuminator lasers would be critical components of any high energy weapon system. They would be used in conjunction with tracking sensors to help point the laser weapon at the target, and also in conjunction with wavefront sensors to help clean up distortion in the laser beam caused by the atmosphere and other parts of the weapon’s optical system so that the beam can be focused to a smaller spot at the target. The SILL program is developing a laser that will be significantly smaller and lighter compared with current high-power illuminator systems. (Article)
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