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Solid State Heat Capacity Solid State Heat Capacity
Laser Mobility Patform and
Pulse Forming Supply
This program joins together the technologies of high perform-
ance, high efficiency Solid State Heat Capacity Lasers with the
high mobility and high peak power capabilities of hybrid elec-
tric drive system to produce the first feasible concept for
deploying a tactical laser to the future battlefield. In marrying
these technologies together, it is now feasible to produce a
high power, tactically proficient, highly mobile, self contained
solid state laser system that has a very high packaging densi-
ty that can fit on anything from the size of the HMMWV to
that of a proposed Future Combat Vehicle. To demonstrate
this concept, PEI Electronics is working with SMDC and a
large team of other industry participants to build a 100 kWatt
laser system, cooling system and fire control system and
mount this on a hybrid electric HMMWV (originally devel-
oped under DARPA/CTE funding). This program would
thereby lead the efforts to introduce high power directed
energy weapon systems on the future battlefield.
Project Objective
To provide a Close In Air Defense
advanced laser weapon system
mounted on a suitable mobile plat-
form for increased protection of the
Front Line of Troops (FLOT). The
system must demonstrate rapid
deployability, mobility and a greatly
reduced logistics tail from other laser
weapon system concepts. Details of
the system concept and Concept of
Operations will be in compliance with
requirements of the Future Combat
System (FCS) program.
Team Members
US Army Strategic Missile
Defense Command (SMDC)
General Atomics
PEI Electronics, Inc.
Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratories (LLNL)
Goodrich
SAFT America, Inc.
Raytheon
project
overview Project Description
PEI Electronics is participating in this pro-
gram as the provider of the mobility plat-
form, its hybrid power train and condition-
ing and delivery of the lasers energy needs.
In this concept, the hybrid drive system and
the requirements for extremely high pulse
power are being integrated so that the vehi-
cle power train acts as the pulse forming
network thereby reducing the weight of this
combersome power source by 85%. In fact
the traction battery used in the vehicle
becomes the source of all the peak power
needed by the laser which is then replen-
ished by the onboard hybrid generator sys-
tem. This leads to a fieldable system which
is totally self contained on a single
HMMWV, using no external generators or
perpheral equipment and needing only
diesel fuel to maintain laser operation.
To date, PEI has demonstrated the peak
power capability of lithium ion batteries that
meet threshold performance requirements
for both vehicle and laser operation. PEI
has also designed a fully integrated energy
management system working directly from
the traction energy system that will power
the complete laser system. This integrated
system has already demonstrated an ener-
gy control density of 25,000 watts per kg.
resulting in a projected 7,500 pound savings
in payload weight. This demonstrated per-
formance supports the premise that the
entire laser system can and will be fielded
on a Hybrid HMMWV or similar vehicle.
Next Steps
This program is continuing under SMDC funding to fabricate and test the inte-
grated energy management system hardware that is traceable to the final
demonstratable Hybrid HMMWV mounted system. Over the next several years,
progressively larger test systems will be built and tested. It is anticipated that a
fully functional, Hybrid HMMWV mounted SSHCL will be field tested by the Army.
Project Lead:
PEI Electronics, Inc.
Contact:
Ken Winters, (256) 895-2054