New defensive laser development announced

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APOPKA, Fla., Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A new high-power laser system to protect U.S. military aircraft has been developed by Northrop Grumman and Pranalytica Inc.

Northrop said the laser is a variant of the All Semiconductor Airborne Laser Threat Terminator product line and houses a high brightness and high-power Quantum Cascade Laser module that will operate at 10 watts in the mid-wave infrared spectrum.

The module, it said, enables real-time color ratio control.

Pranalytica Inc. tailored the QCL properties and performance for the new design, Northrop said.

"It is through talent, innovation and a strategic relationship that we are able to produce a 10-watt MWIR module, packaged to the size of a smartphone," said Gordon Stewart, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman's Laser Systems business unit.

ASALTT is a modular-designed product line of opto-mechanical and environmentally stable laser systems to defeat enemy threats. Its architecture allows for use of subsystems, such as those for covert markers and pointers.