REDSTONE ARSENAL, Alabama – A U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command facility currently under construction on Redstone Arsenal will provide the Army with emerging capabilities against future threats.
The USASMDC Directed Energy Research Facility is a construction project the command’s Technical Center submitted in 2016 to establish a modern research and development facility for high energy lasers, or HEL.
“High energy lasers engage at the speed of light and provide a solution to constantly evolving threats, while reducing the logistics trail associated with conventional kinetic weapon systems,” said Corry Cox, SMDC Technical Center lab manager. “Previous advances in high energy laser technologies at the Technical Center have positioned the Army to rapidly field prototypes through the Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office. The Directed Energy Research Facility will enable the Army to stay on the forefront of this technology as prototypes transition to programs of record.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracted a local company for the construction of the facility which began in March and is currently set to conclude May 2021. The facility will be approximately 5,800 square feet, consisting mostly of specialty highbay space, sufficient to house two HEL systems simultaneously.
The site for the Directed Energy Research Facility is located on the western edge of Redstone Arsenal in the Technical Center’s Space and Directed Energy Technology Complex. The technology complex will be a focal point for research, development and engineering advancement in directed energy, tactical responsive space, strategic weapons technologies and other key components of the Army's modernization efforts.
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