The US Department of Defense is planning to increase its investments in missile defense laser systems in future budget cycles, according to its technical advisor.
Michael Griffin, secretary of defense for research and engineering, said Tuesday that he hopes for useful laser weapons in the hands of combatants, “no more than a few years,” but acknowledged that the scope of a system useful for missile defense plus investment required. .
“He needs an additional three or four to have space, a missile defense capability, a space power, power build of a mid-range power – with a large laser gun that we have to sit in class megawatt, “Griffin said at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“It’s not just around the corner but it’s not completely out of reach. You’ll see a new interest in future missile defense budgets for the laser scale in different technologies because we believe we should do so.”
Laser guns have been a dream for decades for the department, but planners and industry experts at the Pentagon are increasingly convinced that the use of laser beams in the short term is unrealistic.
Another potential use of systems at a lower level, identified by Griffin, is disturbing the spinoff of unmanned systems, which he calls a “transformational problem.” He predicted that it would be logical to use powerful microwaves to stop these swarms.
More generally, Griffin called for a “proliferation” of sensors in a low-level orbit to counter hypersonic threats.
“We really have to get closer to the action,” he said of the need for these systems to be in a low orbit around Earth. “We must multiply and our confidence that the withdrawal of some of these satellites by the adversary does not change our ability. We need to see space as an area trying to remove our opponents our use and react accordingly.”
As part of a major reorganization of the Pentagon’s procurement structure, which also resulted in the establishment of Griffin’s office, the vast majority of major procurement programs previously controlled by the department’s purchasing department were subject to daily supervision service level.