COUNTER-DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS: DEFENSE OF AIR ASSETS

The global proliferation of directed energy weapon technology presents a new threat for the United States as competitors try to capitalize on the technology's relative high potential of mission success and low operational costs. The use of these weapons necessitates new engineering solutions for naval assets in order to keep pace. It is essential to proactively plan for counter-directed energy weapon methods, tactics, and capabilities. This capstone project characterized the adversarial-directed energy threat environment and developed and evaluated concepts for countering, evading, and neutralizing the potential threat effects against naval assets. In particular, the study focused on high-energy laser weapon systems and their effects on naval unmanned aerial vehicles. Capstone team members developed an evaluation tool that they applied to the concepts. The tool can be adapted to counter and defend a variety of assets. After the team applied systems thinking to this problem, it recommended methods for naval assets to counter these threats.http://archive.org/details/counterdirectede1094564850Civilian, Department of the NavyCivilian, Department of the NavyCivilian, Department of the NavyCivilian, Department of the NavyCivilian, Department of the NavyCivilian, Department of the NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited