By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
The Army is refining an AI-enabled laser system able to identify, discriminate and incinerate enemy drone targets in milliseconds using high speed computer processing, advanced algorithms and a new generation of laser weapons.
The services’ Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) is fast-tracking the LOCUST Laser Weapon System, a counter unmanned aerial system weapon engineered to instantly identify then eliminate drone threats at the speed of AI. The LOCUST system, made by BlueHalo, integrates with the Army’s truck-mounted High Energy Laser using an advanced gimbaled electro-optical tracking system, ISR unit, laser rangefinder and target tracking system to “neutralize” threats, according to BlueHalo. It leverages a multiple-camera payload system to provide a wide field of view to expand a defensive targeting envelope. The LOCUST LWS includes a radar and surveillance module on an extendable mast secured to a “463L compliant pallet” for easy mobility including a tailorable payload to include electronic attack technology and a 360-degree radar.
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The most significant element of AI-enabled targeting, particularly when it comes to drone defenses, seems to reside in the area of discrimination and the corresponding ability to pair sensors with shooters. For instance, an AI-capable system will be able to receive incoming sensor data, bounce it off a seemingly limitless database and perform analytics, organize data and identify items of relevance exponentially faster than a human can. This means an optimal solution, effector or “countermeasure” can be identified and essentially “recommended” to a human decision-maker in a matter of seconds. This of course massively increases the speed of any counter-drone technology and better enables discrimination. The faster an enemy drone can be seen, identified and verified, the farther away and more safely it can be destroyed.
For instance, should threat data arrive through EO/IR cameras, radar systems, laser optics or other kinds of sensors simultaneously, an AI-empowered system will be positioned to organize, analyze and process seemingly disparate pools of information into an integrated picture supporting countermeasures. This could prove particularly relevant in a situation where laser power would need to be “scaled” to a particular circumstance, threat specifics could be determined easily. For instance, perhaps multiple targets need to be destroyed simultaneously? Perhaps a target need to be disabled and not fully eliminated? These calculations can be made and put into effect by AI-enabled systems, something which massively truncates the sensor-to-shooter curve.
Kris Osborn is President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
