Viable short-term directed energy weapon naval solutions: a systems analysis of current prototypes

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Authors
Ciullo, Dan
deLongpre, Jeff
Mcarthur, Sim
Nowakowski, Jake
Shene, Rich
Taylor, Earvin
White, Roosevelt
Cheng, Po-Yu
Heng, Yinghui
Wong, Chia Sern
Subjects
Directed Energy
DE
Directed Energy Weapon
DEW
Global Information Network Architecture
GINA
High-Powered Microwave
HPM
LASER
Meta-Model
Advisors
Langford, Gary O.
Date of Issue
2013-06
Date
Jun-13
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
en_US
Abstract
With conventional weapons nearing their peak capability, the need to identify alternative war fighting solutions suggests a look at Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs). The goal is to change the means by which warfare is conducted to improve operational efficiencies and overall effectiveness. The Naval Postgraduate School Systems Engineering and Analysis (SEA-19B) Capstone project team examined how existing directed energy technologies can provide performance across multiple warfare area domains and mission subsets for the U.S. Navy. The aim was to identify and characterize the capability gaps with conventional weapons systems, produce a coherent vision of naval missions that incorporate DEWs, and generate a roadmap for a DEW fleet. By conducting a thorough Analysis of Alternatives based on system performance, integration, schedule, and cost, the project team identified that the Tactical Laser System (with a laser beam power of 10 kW) provided the best overall capability to defend surface combatants, although none of the analyzed DEWs have the capability to replace a current conventional weapon. The Active Denial System (microwave) provided a niche capability in the Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection mission set.
Type
Thesis
SEA Capstone
Description
Department
Systems Engineering (SE)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
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Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.
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