Under a three year, $31.3 million contract with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, RTX company Raytheon has been tasked with rolling out two high-power microwave antenna systems that will aid air defense by firing off directed energy.
All work on them will take place in Arizona, in partnership with the U.S. Air Force Research Lab, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Meant to be transportable and usable on frontlines, prototypes will go to both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, likely in 2024 and 2026, respectively.
“Non-kinetic defense systems are a key part of America’s national defense strategy,” Colin Whelan, president of Advanced Technology at Raytheon, said. “The new iterations of Raytheon’s high-power microwave systems are cost-effective and reliable solutions that operate at the speed of light – enabling our warfighters to defend against faster and more maneuverable threats.”
Raytheon has worked with high-power microwaves for nearly 80 years, and has developed items like the Counter-Electronic High Power Microwave Extended Range Air Base Defense in the past. This latest effort is part of the U.S. military’s Directed Energy Front-line Electromagnetic Neutralization and Defeat (DEFEND) program.