Lockheed Martin has demonstrated a portable, ground-based laser system called ADAM in a series of tests against rockets and remotely piloted aircraft, announced the company on Nov. 27. ADAM stands for Area Defense Anti-Munitions system; the 10-kilowatt fiber laser is designed to bring down short-range aerial threats, states the company’s release. Since August, ADAM has successfully engaged an RPA in flight at a range of nearly a mile and has destroyed four small-caliber rockets in simulated flight at a range of about 1.2 miles, according to the release. “Lockheed Martin has applied its expertise as a laser weapon system integrator to provide a practical and affordable defense against serious threats to military forces and installations,” said Paul Shattuck, the company’s director of directed energy systems for strategic and missile defense purposes. ADAM, which incorporates some commercial hardware, has a tracking range of more than three miles and can engage RPA with an external radar cue, according to the company.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.