Directed Energy Weapon Supply Chains

NDIA’s Emerging Technologies Institute has announced a public launch of its newest report, Directed Energy Weapon Supply Chains: Securing the Path to the Future. The event will take place virtually on January 23^rd from 1:00-3:45 pm.

Recent world events have exposed the fact that the United States faces substantial supply chain vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Nearly every sector has been affected, including emerging defense technologies. As such, ETI launched an in-depth research study focused on technology supply chains with the goal of assessing their current state and providing actionable policy recommendations for their development, health, and resilience. The second focus technology is directed energy weapons. Directed energy weapons (DEWs), including high energy lasers (HELs) and high-power microwaves (HPMs), have emerged as potentially transformative weapons on the modern battlefield. Recent advancements have made DEWs more capable than ever, with many systems possessing the power and range necessary to engage a wide variety of threats, more affordably than current systems. Recent conflicts in the Middle East and Europe have highlighted the importance of munitions capacity as well as the need to both efficiently and effectively counter different kinetic threats. The ability of some DEW systems to engage many targets at once with an “unlimited” magazine could yield enormous economic and tactical benefits.

Please join us virtually on January 23^rd from 1:00-3:45 pm for our public report launch, where the lead author will present key findings and recommendations from the report. The event will also include keynote remarks and a panel discussion from representatives of industry, government, and academia who will discuss important implications for directed energy weapon supply chains in various areas, including:

• Manufacturing Base
• Supply of Critical Materials
• Testing Infrastructure
• Workforce