Photonics/​Optics

Review of Recent Capability Improvements in Ultrashort Pulse Laser Sources: Closing the Relevancy Gap for Directed Energy Applications

The horizon for directed energy (DE) applications, using ultrashort pulse lasers (USPLs), is quickly approaching.

Communicating Via Long-Distance Lasers

There’s a better way to use light to communicate over long distances: lasers.

Nonlinear Effects in Transformation Optics-Based Metamaterial Shields for Counter Directed Energy Weapon Defense

Applying an iterative solution to the Maxwell equations may accommodate the nonlinear effects produced by directed energy weapons.

Fighter Jet Armaments

The F3-R Rafale generates images in both the visible and infrared ranges.

Counter-Directed Energy Weapons: Defense of Air Assets

The global proliferation of directed energy weapon technology presents a new threat for the United States.

Multi-Sensor Electro-Optic Platform

Silent Sentinel’s offering includes a dual Electro-Optic/Infra-Red camera payload, a laser range finder, and a panoramic surveillance camera.

Missile Protection System

The AMPS-MLRD missile protection system provides enhanced protection for military and civilian aircraft against the growing threat of ground to air missiles.

Laser Cleaner Robot

A robotized system automatically removes primers and other protective coatings from F-35 wing components.

An Ultrafast Testbed for Comprehensive Characterization of Photonics, Electronic, and Optoelectronic Properties of Integrated Nanophotonic Structures

High-speed testing technology will enable advances such as new digital signal processing and computing platforms in the optical domain.

More Bang for the Buck: A New Design and Manufacturing Method for Deep Penetrating Bomb Cases

There is a new way to design penetrators and projectiles: Composites.

Light Tactical Vehicle

The MRZR Alpha is the newest light tactical vehicle from the military provider Polaris Government and Defense.

3D-Printed NACA Inlet

A company's first metal additively manufactured part took to the skies on a SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) test flight.

Reverse Engineering Technology

A company was retrofitting older avionics and needed a CAD model of the panel to see how it would fit.

Laser Wire Additive Manufacturing System

ADDere printing not only a rocket combustion chamber and nozzle, but seamlessly merged them into one full size rocket thrust chamber assembly.

New Diamond Super-Material Enhances Aircraft Survivability

A diamond composite is the ultimate optics and semiconducting super-material.

Thermal Management for Directed Energy Weapons

Advanced thermal management is one of the keys to bringing directed energy weapons online and to allow them to operate at peak performance.

Beam Propagation Model Selection for Millimeter-Wave Directed Energy Weapons

See how Modeling and Simulation (M&S) can be used to explore the design trade space of directed energy weapons.

Experimental Design of a UCAV-Based High-Energy Laser Weapon

The day of the first deployable UCAV armed with a high-energy laser weapon is not far away.

sUAS-Based Payload Development and Testing for Quantifying Optical Turbulence

Understanding how atmospheric effects can impact operational conditions is important to the development of High Energy Laser (HEL) weapon systems.

Bore Elevation and Azimuth Measurement System (Beams)

A newly developed laser apparatus verifies that the pointing accuracy requirement of a weapon’s fire control system is met.

Photonic Microwave Generation Using On-Chip Optical Frequency Combs

A key building block of microwave photonics is optical frequency combs, which provide hundreds of equidistant and mutually coherent laser lines.

High-Energy Laser Weapon Systems

The next few years will help determine whether high-energy lasers become a staple of the battlefield.

Getting the Most Out of Laser Wire Additive Manufacturing

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) powder-based systems aren't the only ways to print metals.

Rheinmetall to Supply Laser Light Module to Swiss Army

Rheinmetall has signed a contract with Switzerland’s Federal Office for Defence Procurement (Armasuisse) to supply VarioRay LLM laser light modules to the Swiss Army. Under the...

NASA Prepares for the Moon and Mars with Expanded Deep Space Network

NASA is adding a new antenna for communicating with the agency’s farthest-flung robotic spacecraft.

Unmanned Aircraft System Offers Superior Surveillance Imagery

AeroVironment, Inc. recently announced the launch of Puma LE.

Shoulder-Launched Weapon System

Guided flight tests have been completed.

Armoring Satellites to Survive and Operate Through Attacks

Satellites do a lot of things — they help people navigate from one place to another, they deliver television programming, they search for new stars and exo-planets and they enable...

EO/IR Maritime Payload

CONTROP Precision Technologies Ltd., recently demonstrated its iSea-25HD system.