February 16, 2006, Wilmington, MA--Textron Systems has announced receipt of a contract from the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command to develop and demonstrate high-power solid-state laser technology for use in U.S. military applications.
The contract supports the Joint Technology Office's Joint High Power Solid State Laser Program (J-HPSSL) Phase III activity to develop a laboratory-demonstrated 100 kW solid-state laser within a three-year period. In addition to the initial contract, signed on December 22, 2005, and valued at $10M, there are also three options that, if exercised, could increase the contract value to $30M.
The contract is funded by the Joint Technology Office, an arm of the U.S. Department of Defense that functions as the DoD's advocate for High Energy Laser (HEL) technology development and funds high priority science and technology activities supporting future HEL weapon requirements. The goal of the J-HPSSL program is to demonstrate integration of scaleable subsystem technologies at the laboratory level into a 100 kW-Class solid-state laser system for use on a variety of military platforms.