Laser weapons, high-powered microwave weapons and hypersonic weapons are on the horizon for the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Of fice. The of fice takes the products out of the lab, transitioning them into prototypes with combat utility.
by Lt. Gen. L. Neil Thurgood
DIRECTED-ENERGY FAST-TRACK
The Army is fast-tracking directed-energy systems, awarding a contract to accelerate its first combat-capable laser system, the Multi-Mission High Energy Laser (MMHEL) prototype. Here, a Stryker Mobile Expeditionary High Energy Laser (MEHEL), an earlier technology that provided risk reduction for the MMHEL, participates in the Maneuver Fires Integrated Experiment in December 2014 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. (Photo by Monica K. Guthrie, Fort Sill Public Affairs)