The U.S. Navy is expanding its laser weapon capabilities by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) to counter the growing threat of drone swarms. This initiative, led by the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in partnership with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), aims to improve laser targeting and tracking systems.
Lasers are increasingly viewed as a crucial defense against modern threats because of their ability to engage targets at the speed of light. However, they are useful less often since they need human operators to locate targets, assess their vulnerabilities, and maintain laser locks long enough to neutralize them. While an operator may manage a single drone, the complexity increases when faced with swarms or high-speed threats like hypersonic missiles.
The Navy's research focuses on automating vital phases of laser targeting, including drone classification, pose estimation, and aimpoint selection. To train the AI system, researchers developed a large dataset with a 3-D printed titanium model of a Reaper drone. Infrared and radar scans simulated how a full-sized drone will appear in different settings, generating 100,000 synthetic images and 77,077 real-world images. This data was then fed into convolutional neural networks, teaching the AI to efficiently track and engage drones.
Tests revealed that AI functioned best when trained on real-world data, reducing errors in target recognition and tracking. The AI-enhanced technology now operates in real-time with the Navy's laser tracking framework. While humans will continue to oversee the operations, AI-powered automation will significantly increase response time and accuracy in high-intensity combat situations.
The AI will then be integrated into real radar and optical tracking systems during field testing. The High Energy Laser Expeditionary (HELEX) demonstrator will be used as a test platform to check if the technology is ready for battle.
While full autonomy for AI-controlled laser systems has yet to be demonstrated, this research paves the path for future AI-powered military monitoring and targeting technologies.