NATO STO

Moderate and high energy (mJ to >1J), ultrashort pulse (~1ps or less) laser systems have seen rapid development worldwide in the last few years. Average powers have increased to >1kW, repetition rates exceed several kHz and some of these laser systems have now demonstrated peak powers in excess of one petawatt (1015W). The recent, continuing and accelerating advancement in laser technology has enabled new fundamental research in plasma physics and nonlinear regimes, examples of which include directed energy applications, laser driven particle acceleration, high harmonic generation. Such ultra-intense lasers have until recently been large in size and limited to low pulse repetition rates but new gain media and diode pumping techniques are both reducing system size and increasing pulse repetition rates. As a result, it is timely for NATO to be invested in the potential applications, opportunities and threats made possible by this emerging technology area. The effort was started by a Specialists’ Meeting that was held from May 14th to 16th 2018 in Bucharest, Romania to promote the exchange of state-of-the-art knowledge among an audience of specialists in this important scientific topic to enhance the capability of the NATO S&T community to respond adequately to the NATO requirements. The aim of that Research Specialist Meeting (RSM) was to review the scientific developments that have been made possible by this laser technology and identify and evaluate the military applications made feasible by these recent developments. The current laser technology is still at a low TRL level, however the current rapid advancement requires the evaluation of military applications and threats that these laser fields pose to blue and red systems. As a conclusion of the meeting, the attendees agreed that the technology may not be high in TRL level but has high military relevance and an exploratory team should be formed to increase NATO understanding of the threats and opportunities and the potential timelines. The specialist meeting was followed by an exploratory team (ET). Individuals provided background, research and interest to other team members, building the basis for constructive dialogue. After extensive discussions over the one-year effort, the team shared a vision to advance the effort and agreed on moving forward with a 3 year NATO Research task groups. The RTG participants decided to focus on three thrust areas, which the members of the RTG team believes brings the highest value to all Nations and the NATO: 1. Propagation, 2. Laser Sources, 3. Applications. With the results provided during the RTG and the recent advances in laser source technology appears to be a key enabler for military utility and threat assessment. The scientific unknowns that need to be answered are considerable and only achievable by effective collaboration, synergistic activities and sharing resources.