Thomas Webber, director of the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command Technical Center, has disclosed that the organization is focusing its technological efforts on high-energy lasers, small satellites and hypersonic weapons, Defense News reported Thursday.
Webber said during a presentation at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting that the center has started assessing various electric lasers as part of a broader effort to develop a weapon that can be installed on a small tactical truck and used to launch a non-kinetic attack.
SMDC is also prioritizing research on small satellites, which the Army believes can speed up the transmission of data in the battlefield.
“We’re trying to figure out a way in which we can use [low-Earth orbit] space … to basically provide much more global situational awareness coverage,†Webber noted.
Lastly, SMDC is studying how to control hypersonic missiles to develop the technology and deliver it to warfighters.