Albuquerque, NM, July 16, 2004--The High-Energy Laser Joint Technology Office has awarded a $1.4 million contract to Boeing-SVS to increase the precision of airborne high-energy lasers through improved compensation for aero-optical induced turbulence in high-speed aircraft.
Using a wind tunnel, Boeing-SVS will develop and validate a model of aero-dynamic flow for laser beam propagation from an airborne platform. The resulting model is intended for application on a future high-energy laser fighter.
The turbulence created by the fighter's airflow causes the laser light to bend and distort. The optics model will be tested on a surrogate F-15 fighter's pod to validate wind tunnel measurements and demonstrate compensation techniques.
Specifically, Boeing will be working with the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, Indiana), where the wind tunnel measurements will be conducted. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate is overseeing the project for the Joint Technology Office.
According to the directorate's project officer, Lewis Desandre, "This effort fits within (the laboratory's) research charter and is an important first step in developing high-energy laser systems on fighter aircraft."
The High-Energy Laser Joint Technology Office is the Office of the Secretary of Defense tri-service organization to improve the nation's high-energy laser defense capabilities.
Boeing-SVS, a subsidiary of the Boeing Company (Seattle, WA), was formed in 1993 to address the acquisition, tracking, and pointing requirements of directed energy systems.