Capability Assessment of the High-Energy Laser Liquid Area Defense System (HELLADS)

摘要

High-energy Laser (HEL) technology continues to improve, and its planned place in the battlefield is ever evolving. The Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-envisioned HEL Liquid Laser Area Defense System (HELLADS) has two main advantages over any HEL predecessor. One, the configuration is small and light enough to be carried on more tactical aircraft such as fighters. Two, the thermal management greatly increases HEL firepower by increasing dwell time on target. To assess HELLADS operational capabilities, the test community has been challenged with how to effectively examine the advantages and limitations in a cost-effective manner. Where field testing is infeasible, modeling and simulation emerges as a relatively low-cost and robust assessment tool. Specifically, this research effort focuses on the assessment of operational capabilities for a yet-to-be-developed HEL weapon system patterned after HELLADS. An Air Force Standard Analysis Toolkit mission-level model, the Extended Air Defense Simulation Model (EADSIM), is used in this study along with the HEL End-to-End Operational Simulation (HELEEOS) to model atmospheric propagation. Of particular interest is the investigation of the envisioned HELLADS operational envelope and the potential advantages it offers over other HEL systems. Scenarios are developed to represent the homeland defense arena in which HELLADS is envisioned to operate.