Northrop Grumman completes design review of high-energy laser for U.S. DoD

(Reuters) – U.S. weapons maker Northrop Grumman Corp said on Monday it has completed the preliminary design review for a high-energy laser that would have several defense applications if scaled.

The company had last year won a $72 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to demonstrate a high-energy laser prototype.

Developing higher-powered lasers that can track and focus energy on a moving target has been a long-time goal for the DoD with possible applications for missile defense systems.

Northrop said it would test the prototype at progressively higher powers later this year.

(Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru)