Raytheon and AFRL Successfully Test CHIMERA Advanced Directed Energy Defense System

Defense News ,Mexico :- Raytheon, in collaboration with the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), has recently completed a three-week field test of the Counter-Electronic High-Power Microwave Extended-Range Air Base Defense (CHIMERA) in New Mexico.

CHIMERA, designed to safeguard military installations from medium to long-range airborne threats, utilizes a ground-based platform that emits highly concentrated radio energy to neutralize both enemy assets and targets moving at the speed of light.

Conducted at the White Sands Missile Range, the comprehensive month-long trial witnessed CHIMERA effectively deploying directed energy against multiple static targets with various configurations. The technology also demonstrated its end-to-end fire control application, capable of reading aerial target data and ensuring sustained tracking throughout the entire flight path.

Raytheon is set to manufacture defensive high-power microwave antenna systems for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force under the DARPA DEFEND program. Colin Whelan, President of Raytheon Advanced Technology, emphasized the significance of high-power microwave systems, describing them as cost-effective and reliable solutions that enhance layered defense capabilities, providing warfighters with more options to swiftly counter adversaries.

The success of the CHIMERA test is seen as a testament to the strong partnership between Raytheon and AFRL, underscoring their dedication to developing non-kinetic solutions capable of countering increasingly sophisticated threats.

CHIMERA is currently undergoing refinement as part of the Directed Energy Front-line Electromagnetic Neutralization and Defeat (DEFEND) program. This initiative aims to engineer and validate high-power microwave systems for battlefront operability. Collaborating with the U.S. Undersecretary of Defense and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, DEFEND represents a joint effort to integrate critical technology into a comprehensive mission architecture alongside other directed energy technologies and kinetics.

Dr. Shery Welsh, AFRL Directed Energy Director, highlighted the collaborative achievements, emphasizing the importance of ongoing innovation and collaboration between AFRL, industry, and academia to develop and enhance future defense architectures.