The U.S. Department of War awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) a contract to advance the United States’ next generation cruise missile and unmanned aerial system defense architecture. Under this Joint Laser Weapon System (JLWS) program, Lockheed Martin will develop a tactical containerized 500 kW laser weapon system, providing combatant commanders with scalable, cost-effective intercept solutions. The award acknowledges the company’s collaboration with SCALED Directed Energy, one of the Department of War’s six Critical Technology Areas under the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)).
“We are honored to field this operational‑tactical prototype — the highest‑power laser ever packaged in a transportable container,” said Paul Lemmo, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Sensors, Effectors, and Mission Systems. “By applying our expertise in lowering size, weight, and power along with rugged‑system design, we can rapidly build containerized laser weapons in the near term.”
“We must actively defend the homeland against emerging threats,” said Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering. “We are partnering with industry to rapidly deliver deep magazine directed energy capabilities to the Joint Force that can be seamlessly deployed across multiple domains.”
Laser weapons are a revolutionary technology because of the advantages of speed, flexibility, precision and low cost per engagement that are only possible with lasers. These advantages apply to stand-alone laser systems as well as to weapon systems that combine DE and kinetic energy capabilities. In these cases, DE operates as a force multiplier, enabling the warfighter to counter a growing range of emerging threats. Lockheed Martin has specialized in laser weapon system development for 40 years, with advancements in areas such as precision pointing and control, lineof-sight stabilization and adaptive optics – essential functions in harnessing and directing the power of a laser beam – and in compact, robust, spectrally beamcombined fiber laser devices that provide unmatched performance.
This award builds on more than 15 years of Lockheed Martin investment and expertise in designing and fielding tactically relevant laser weapons. Compared with conventional kinetic systems, Lockheed Martin’s lasers provide a decisive operational edge: speed‑of‑light engagement, virtually unlimited magazines, and a dramatically lower cost per intercept—capabilities essential for defeating high‑volume UAS swarms and advanced cruise‑missile threats. Lockheed Martin continues to work closely with the Department of War and industry partners to accelerate fielding of directed energy capabilities to support the warfighter in the moments it matters most.
