Integration of high energy laser weapons systems aboard all-electric ships

Abstract

An all-electric ship construct for surface combatants will need to consider the impact of future, electric power based weapons systems. Shipboard environments, driven by war fighting, hoteling, and safety arguments, are already influencing the development of high impulse weapons systems away from chemical or nuclear derived charging mechanism. shipboard high energy laser (HEL) weapons system concepts, for example, are already under pressure to adopt environmentally integratable, all-electric, solutions to meet requirements. Because of these influences, HEL weapons systems that employ solid-state cavity technology are being favorably received. Alternative technologies that are more difficult to integrate, such as the free electron laser (FEL) and possibly the chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) systems, are still under consideration but will require different electric power resources. For HEL systems, there are several critical factors in electric power delivery. Depending on the HEL technology; source capacity, flow rate regulation, drop-out and other source stability aspects can significantly influence weapons availability or performance. The nominal solution to achieving these reserve capacity and regulation requirements is to incorporate specialized components within the weapons system. Given the infrequency of weapons use, these specialized components should not be relegated to specific tasks only when their functions could be generally beneficial to the overall power grid. Design approaches that cross-pollinate weapons systems power solutions with those being considered for the transmission, distribution and storage solutions in the power system would be more practical and cost efficient. Reserve power components designed to insure a consistent supply voltage and insulate against power failure can, for example, be used to enhance the performance of a nearby power grid node. With this approach, the all-electric ship power grid could undergo performance improvements with the addition of each new weapons system.