Lasers & Sources

Spending cuts to US military laser budget may go deep

Feb. 17, 2012

For FY 2013, the Pentagon has proposed deep cuts to the budget for military lasers and directed-energy weapons, slashing the total by approximately 33% from FY 2012.

Conard Holton

For fiscal year 2013, the Pentagon has proposed deep cuts to the budget for military lasers and directed-energy weapons, slashing the total by approximately 33% from FY 2012. In FY 2013, Department of Defense officials propose spending $209.24 million for research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) related to lasers and directed-energy weapons, and $35.04 million in procurement. The total is down 44.7% from FY 2011 levels of $441.48 million.

These numbers are derived from a line-by-line analysis of the 2013 DOD budget request for procurement and RDT&E, and do not reflect potential spending in the Pentagon's operations and maintenance or other budget requests, and do not reflect budget line items in which lasers and directed-energy weapons content is not apparent. The full analysis was conducted by our colleague John Keller at Military & Aerospace Electronics.

The largest lasers and directed-energy weapons program Pentagon officials plan for next year is the US Air Force's $106.2 million initiative for applied research in directed-energy technology, such as the Airborne Laser. That figure is down from current-year spending of $141.1 million, and down from 2011 levels of 110.3 million.

In other procurement, the US Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) at Fort Monmouth, NJ, proposes to spend $1 million to procure the Green Laser Interdiction System (GLIS). This figure is down from $25.36 million CECOM had budgeted to buy this system in FY 2012. The Green Laser Interdiction System is a non-lethal laser weapon designed to control crowds or potential attackers through visual disruption.

About the Author

Conard Holton | Editor at Large

Conard Holton has 25 years of science and technology editing and writing experience. He was formerly a staff member and consultant for government agencies such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and engineering companies such as Bechtel. He joined Laser Focus World in 1997 as senior editor, becoming editor in chief of WDM Solutions, which he founded in 1999. In 2003 he joined Vision Systems Design as editor in chief, while continuing as contributing editor at Laser Focus World. Conard became editor in chief of Laser Focus World in August 2011, a role in which he served through August 2018. He then served as Editor at Large for Laser Focus World and Co-Chair of the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar from August 2018 through January 2022. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at the Colorado School of Mines and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.