Multidisciplinary High Energy Laser Weapon System Student Design Study

With the recent advances in materials, electric power generation and storage, and solid state laser technology, the time has come to examine the application and feasibility of developing a mobile high energy laser weapon system for the military.The high energy laser offers many advantages as a weapon system over conventional kinetic or explosive systems because of its power scalability, speed-of-light engagement capability, and precision engagement capability.The development of such a system requires the integration of numerous science and engineering disciplines as well as considerations of other factors such as the legal implications for fielding the system.Over the last two years a multidisciplinary team of undergraduate students and faculty from the United States Military Academy have been working with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office to help design portions of a mobile high energy laser weapon system and to examine the feasibility of fielding a system.The team consisted of physicists, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, systems engineers, and a law student.This paper will describe the Solid State Heat Capacity Laser developed at Lawrence Livermore used in this study and identify the specific design issues addressed by the student team.It will also describe how the project was structured so that each student on the team had both an in-depth experience within their discipline and learned how to integrate their discipline specific expertise in the larger multidisciplinary project.Finally the paper will present the results of the students' work and learning outcomes.