General Atomics Displays MQ-9B Armed With Laser Weapon
Imagine an MQ-9B SeaGuardian frying a swarm of Shahed kamikaze drones with laser beams over the Black Sea.
The scenario is not difficult to imagine, as an MQ-9B was recently displayed at Sea-Air-Space 2025 with a podded air-to-air laser system.
Several attempts have been made in the past to put a directed energy weapon, or laser, onto an aircraft. However, with little success.
Scalable System
General Atomics’ latest airborne laser offering is in the “25 kilowatt power class and scalable to 300 kilowatts in both pulsed and continuous wave systems,” according to Naval News.
“The system’s large optical aperture and efficient cooling offers significant reductions in size and weight to suit air, land and sea-based platforms,” a General Atomics statement read.
The underwing-attached pod features a 25-kilowatt distributed gain laser and an ultra-high power density battery system.
Distributed Gain Laser
Distributed gain laser technology employs a series of dispersed gain mediums, or a material that amplifies light, through which the light source passes.
A bigger gain medium requires a bulkier cooling system for the greater waste heat it generates, increasing the system’s overall weight.
It also saves the need to combine several beams of light required in a fiber laser.
The system will put less pressure on an aircraft compared to other laser technologies.
Previous Experiences
The company’s experience with distributed gain laser technology is not new.
In 2021, a General Atomics and Boeing team was contracted to demonstrate a 300-kilowatt-class solid state, distributed gain, high energy laser weapon system by the US Army.
A year later, the company demonstrated an air-to-air laser communication system called the Laser Airborne Communication-12 Terminal.
According to the company, the capability can be configured as a podded solution for the MQ-9A Reaper, MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian, and MQ-1C Gray Eagle 25M drones.
