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IMS2022



FROM THE EDITOR | SEPTEMBER 30, 2022




THE CURRENT STATE AND OUTLOOK OF DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS

By John Oncea, Editor

From high-energy lasers to high-power radio frequency devices and more, directed
energy weapons are increasingly ubiquitous. But what are these technologies and
how are they changing the way the military operates?

One of the most infamous outcomes resulting from the use of directed energy
weapons (DEW) — Havana Syndrome — may or may not have happened. While the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine suspected the incident
was caused by a foreign government’s use of pulsed electromagnetic energy and
ultrasound against U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers in the Cuban
capital, there is no definitive proof. In fact, the CIA concluded that the
majority of the 1,000 cases of Havana Syndrome it studied were not a result of
directed energy but were caused by environmental causes, undiagnosed medical
conditions, or stress.

So, while the jury’s still out on Havana Syndrome, there is a lot we do know
about DEW. Directed energy is an “umbrella term covering technologies that
relate to the productions of a beam of concentrated electromagnetic energy or
atomic or subatomic particles,” according to the Dictionary of Military Terms
and Acronyms. When used “as a direct means to damage or destroy enemy equipment,
facilities, and personnel,” a DEW is created.

 Publicly acknowledged types of DEW that have been developed and/or used
include:

 * Microwave (Active Denial System, anti-drone rifle, Vigilant Eagle)
 * Laser weapons (a DEW based on lasers)
 * Plasma (weapons fire a beam, bolt, or stream of plasma, which is an excited
   state of matter consisting of atomic electrons and nuclei and free electrons
   if ionized, or other particles if pinched)
 * Sonic (weapons of various types that use sound to injure or incapacitate an
   opponent)


ISSUES AND CONCERNS

All of these technologies damage targets with highly focused energy and can be
applied to weapons. According to Noisecom, “Since DEW provides a unique response
to rapidly emerging global threats, many industries, and military branches are
channeling research and development (R&D) efforts toward directed-energy
technologies poised for near-term deployment.” But for this deployment can
occur, Noisecom notes, “Certain design issues must be addressed in order to
achieve the high-power levels necessary to support laser-based DEW deployment in
critical security operations.”

One such design issue standing in the way of producing the optical powers
required for DEW is that “multiple laser modules are combined into a single
beam, but the high optical intensity of each module over the fiber can generate
Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) issues, which create a sizeable and
destructive return loss.”

The solution? Noise generators and stand-alone noise sources that address the
critical needs of SBS reduction by driving coherence spreading to minimize
retroflected scattering, allowing for high optical power transmission. Coherence
spreading using a random noise source reduces each laser module’s sharp waveform
(peak power) by modulating the phase of the laser. Although the peak power is
reduced, the average power remains the same, therefore the overall optical power
of the laser is maintained while at the same time reducing the negative effects
of SBS.

Other design issues in need of R&D, according to Interesting Engineering,
include the need to keep the energy source within safe operating temperatures,
the need for a very stable and reliable power source, and the effect of the
environment on the DEW’s effectiveness and utility.

Congressional Research Service adds to that list five more potential stumbling
blocks:

 * Technological maturity: “Some DE systems are small enough to fit on military
   vehicles, but many require larger and/or fixed platforms that could
   potentially limit deployment options and operational utility. In what ways,
   if any, are DOD technology maturation efforts reducing the SWaP and cooling
   requirements of DE systems?”
 * Weapons characteristics: “How, if at all, might [high energy lasers]
   limitations be mitigated by technological developments, concepts of
   operation, or other methods? What impact might a failure to mitigate these
   limitations have on future military operations?”
 * Mission utility: “What is the appropriate balance between DE weapons and
   traditional munitions within the military’s portfolio of capabilities?”
 * Defense industrial base: “Some analysts have expressed concerns that, in the
   past, DOD did not provide stable funding for DE weapons programs or
   sufficient opportunities for the DE workforce.”
 * Intelligence requirements: “Some analysts have questioned whether DOD has
   sufficient knowledge of adversary DE weapons systems and materials to develop
   its weapons requirements.”

As these issues are sorted out and resolved, DEW will become an even more-valued
military technology. Its uses will evolve from high-energy lasers that can zap
satellites and radio frequency jammers to weapons that, over the next 40 years
or so, will – according to the Office of the U.S. Air Force’s Chief Scientist
for Directed Energy, Air Force Research Laboratory, for the Office of the U.S.
Secretary of Defense’s Directed Energy Community of Interest  – see “flexibility
of effects in the electromagnetic spectrum [relying] on operations at a variety
of power levels and a variety of frequencies. Furthermore, the ability to
agilely change frequencies and modes of effect are a natural extension of DEW
military power which promises to enable electronic warfare at millisecond
timescales.”






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