GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

Ongoing EU-funded research (with a dedicated call in PADR 2018) paved the way to the design and build of an EU high-power laser effector to be integrated in military systems once mature.

However, the limited budget available under PADR constrained the TRL increase. Hence, some further research activities should be performed in order to increase the level of maturity of some of the most critical LDEW technologies and subsystems to ensure strategic autonomy and security of supply in this critical domain.

In particular, the development of a future LDEW capability requires to address specifically: operational challenges. Laser weapons must be able to operate safely and efficiently in two different categories of use cases:

Those two-type scenarios induce the challenge for a broad approach that covers:

• a first situation with moderate power [5-20kW] and intrinsic limited collateral damage probability, especially associated with an eye-safer wavelength;
• a second situation with high power [50-100kW] capacity associated with moderate SWaP.

The proposals must address in priority:

• beam combining techniques;
• development of laser sources, allowing significant output power increase;
• shaping and propagation of the beam;
• fine tracking and pointing;
• electrical and thermal management.