Award

The US Marine Corps (USMC) is seeking an innovative solution to develop a Scalable Compact Ultra-short Pulse Laser System (SCUPLS), a weapon system (WS) capable of delivering two types of laser pulses: 1) femtosecond (fs) pulses for plasma ignition and 2) nanosecond (ns) pulses to flash-heat the ignited plasma to create enhanced non-lethal effects such as flash bang, thermal ablation for pain, and delivery of intelligible voice commands at range. The lightweight and energy-efficient Ultra-Short Pulse Laser (USPL) required for SCUPLS is not available commercially. In the Phase I project, Aqwest identified the design concepts for the SCUPLS WS, validated a preamplifier design, and formulated Phase II plans for the development of a prototype / demonstrator system. In particular, we identified a path to reducing the overall SCUPLS size, weight, power consumption, and thermal load to enable deployment on a small tactical platform.Ā Where advantageous, we utilized USPL concepts and designs which were recently developed by Aqwest for the US Government.Ā Aqwest USPL designs and hardware already have a significant level of development, which allows for an expedited transition to field testing.Ā In Phase II, Aqwest will develop and deliver the prototype demonstrator laser assembly (DLA) to support USMC's research in pulse propagation through air and pulse effects on targets. This functional, stand-alone laser system will be a delivered for future system integration with a beam director (launch optics) as an initial step toward the development of the full SCUPLS WS.