U.S. Air Force taps BAE for pulsed laser research

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has hired BAE Systems to work out how pulsed lasers could be used for military missions and how to pair solid-state lasers with beam control systems the U.S. Air Force already has, under a contract worth up to $19.7 million.

The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, for a program called Laser Utilization for Military Innovation and Novel Applications, went to BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems in Broomfield, Colorado. The laboratory obligated $1 million in fiscal 2026 research funds at the time of award, and the work runs through Sept. 29, 2031. Six companies bid for it.

The contract notice describes two goals: finding ways to use the advantages of pulsed lasers, and integrating solid-state laser technology with existing beam control systems. A pulsed laser releases its energy in very short, intense bursts, while a continuous-wave laser, the type used in most laser weapons fielded so far, delivers a steady beam. Beam control is the set of optics, sensors and tracking equipment that points a laser, keeps it locked on a moving target and corrects for distortion in the air, and it is often the hardest part of making a laser weapon work.

The notice does not say what military applications the U.S. Air Force has in mind, whether the work is aimed at weapons, sensing, communications or something else, or what kind of targets or platforms are involved.

All of the work will take place at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, home to the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Directed Energy Directorate, which leads the service’s research on high-energy lasers and high-power microwaves.

BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems is the former Ball Aerospace, which BAE Systems bought in 2024. The Colorado unit builds spacecraft, satellite instruments and optical and sensor systems for the U.S. military and NASA.

As a cost-plus contract with a maximum ceiling, the deal reimburses BAE Systems for its costs plus a fixed fee, and the U.S. Air Force is not obligated to spend the full $19.7 million.