Metrology of Navy Directed Energy Weapons

Abstract

As weapons technologies advance rapidly, so must the ability to measure the new technologies. The importance of carrying out basic and applied research, development, test & evaluation (RDT&E) for Metrology, Standardization, and Measurement Traceability to International System of Units (SI) will be highlighted. For Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) systems, inclusion of such work early in the life-cycle of DE technology development has potentially huge cost-benefits. Important challenges, both in S&T and otherwise, faced by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) / Department of Navy (DoN) DE Test and Evaluation (T&E) and Metrology and Calibration (METCAL) communities in executing their RDT&E efforts, will be discussed. Some approaches will be presented to address these challenges. As DEWs continue to develop, it is necessary that development of measurement techniques and calibration procedures become a priority in order to ensure that they can be reliable systems for the warfighter.