Article Posted on : - May 08, 2014

The ADAM laser system burns through the hull of a military-grade boat. Photo: Lockheed Martin

SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA (BNS): Lockheed Martin has carried out the first tests of the Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) system against maritime targets.

The Company said a prototype laser system successfully disabled two boats at a range of approximately 1.6 kilometers (approximately 1 mile) in tests off the California coast.

Lockheed Martin is developing the transportable, ground-based ADAM laser system to demonstrate a practical, affordable defence against short-range threats, including Qassam-like rockets, unmanned aerial systems and small boats.

In less than 30 seconds, the ground-based system's high-energy laser burned through multiple compartments of the rubber hull of the military-grade small boats operating in the ocean, it said.

Lockheed Martin previously demonstrated the system's capabilities in countering representative airborne targets in flight, including small-calibre rocket targets and an unmanned aerial system target.

The system can precisely track moving targets at a range of more than 5 kilometers (3.1 miles), and its 10-kilowatt fibre laser can engage targets up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away.

"Our ADAM system tests have shown that high-energy lasers are ready to begin addressing critical defence needs," said Tory Bruno, president of Strategic and Missile Defence Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.

Lockheed Martin has pioneered the development and demonstration of high-energy laser capabilities for more than 30 years and has made advances in areas such as precision pointing and control, line-of-sight stabilisation and adaptive optics and high-power fibre lasers.