BlueHalo Awarded Two AFRL Contracts

BlueHalo has been awarded two contracts by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), one for optical laser communications and one for a directed-energy modeling and simulations virtual range.

The contract for the virtual directed-energy range, reportedly the largest of its kind, will be a 10-year $80 million effort to create, conduct, and support simulated wargames for the Department of Defense and build a modeling and simulation virtual range dedicated to directed-energy weapons. The virtual range will host directed-energy utility concept events that familiarize military personnel with digital electronic warfare systems by providing the opportunity to face adversarial forces in a simulated environment.

Col. Matthew Crowell, the Air Force Safety Center’s chief of aviation safety; and Capt. Phillip Butler, 314th Fighter Squadron, operate their virtual aircraft at AFRL’s Directed Energy and Kinetic Energy Directed Energy Utility Concept Experiment, or DEKE DEUCE, held at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force/Allen Winston.

Under the second contract, BlueHalo will deliver a pair of optical laser communications proto-flight terminals and a ground station to demonstrate on-orbit processing of satellite positioning and timing for the AFRL at Kirtland Air Force Base. Work will be performed in Albuquerque, N.M., and is expected to be completed by February 2025.

The contract will support the development and demonstration of key technologies: GEO-to-LEO Optical Uplinks and Downlinks, Space-to-Ground Links, Positioning and Timing Accuracies over Optical Communication Links, and interoperability with multiple optical communications standards.

in April, BlueHalo delivered its LOCUST laser weapon system to be integrated into the Palletized High Energy Laser (P-HEL) system. The Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, in support of the Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office, established the P-HEL program to address the growing threat of small unmanned aircraft systems.