November 3, 2017

Leonardo Electronics US Wins Contract to Develop Laser Diode Technology for DARPA’s EUCLID Program

Leonardo Electronics US, formally Lasertel, has been awarded a Phase I contract to participate in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Efficient Ultra-Compact Laser Integrated Devices program. The project will focus on the development of lightweight laser diode pump sources for fiber lasers used in directed energy applications. 

As we have seen through recent successful testing, high-energy laser technology has the potential to provide new and enhanced defense capabilities. However, until recently, these systems have been too large and heavy to be widely integrated in military platforms.

With an award of just over $1 million, Leonardo will be able to dedicate resources toward solving this size and weight problem. Over the next 12 months, our engineers will work on developing a new laser diode pump source capable of providing high power and low SWaP.

With these advancements, we can expect to see product size and weight significantly decrease below that of products currently on the market. These accomplishments will be in line with the goals of the EUCLID program, encouraging breakthrough technologies for national security and defense.

Leonardo currently manufacturers a range of semiconductor wafers, laser diode packages, collimating and beam shaping optics for mission-critical technology at the laser solutions facility in Tucson, AZ. Learn more about our existing directed energy applications.