The Air Force Research Laboratory this week awarded Northrop Grumman a $39 million contract to develop an advanced beam-control system that will support efforts to integrate directed-energy technology on an Air Force fighter jet by 2020. The Shield Turret Research in Aero-Effects (STRAFE) is one piece of AFRL's Self-Protected High-Energy Laser program -- part of a three-pronged effort to demonstrate advanced laser technology an a fighter jet. The lab is looking to identify a laser and beam-control system that can...
