Navy repurposes WWII-era test tunnel for developing laser weapons
NewsApril 24, 2017
DAHLGREN, Va. The U.S. Navy recently announced that its top laser experts have transformed a tunnel that had been used for gun-range operations during World War II into a vital new capability for testing laser technologies. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) says that Navy scientists and engineers are using the Laser Lethality and Development Facility?s capabilities to support emerging initiatives to integrate future laser weapon systems aboard Navy ships.
The long-dormant 100-meter tunnel now features two labs for conducting high-power laser testing of materials, components, and subsystems. The labs are connected by the above-ground tunnel, which provides for the safe conduct of indoor testing at significant ranges while removing the effects and limitations of what is often a highly variable outdoor environment.
Captain Godfrey "Gus" Weekes, NSWCDD commanding officer, says of the facility: “Our scientists and engineers are taking advantage of the Laser Lethality and Development Lab’s capabilities – including the above-ground tunnel – to innovate and evaluate high energy lasers that are interoperable with Navy ships and electric weaponry. As we continue to develop and deploy laser weapons to the fleet with the inherent advantages of directed energy – speed-of-light delivery, engagement precision, magazine depth, and scalable effects – our warfighters will have significant technological advantage over our adversaries.”
The lab, primarily dedicated to performing laser-effects testing, supports programs sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, Joint Directed Energy Transition Office, and Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems, among other service departments. The testing determines environmental effects on laser performance, measures the response of target materials to laser energy, and provides input to the characterization of laser-weapon system requirements.
At present, the laboratory’s rooftop platform allows engineers to operate and test laser systems across the Potomac River Test Range, a place where naval guns have been tested since 1918; from this platform, high-energy laser operations can be conducted over to the Combined Experimental Test Facility, a two- story laser backstop located several kilometers across the water. In addition, the lab will also get additional environmental controls and a test and diagnostics facility later this year. The Army expects that future upgrades will include installation of a wind tunnel to study laser/material interactions of components under higher windspeed conditions.
