The Defense Department is looking to establish a group of entities across industry and academia to accelerate government access to directed-energy capabilities for military applications, per a solicitation issued Friday. The Joint Directed Energy Consortium -- a group of nontraditional defense contractors, research and academic institutions -- would use alternative contracting vehicles to spur faster access to the commercial sector and support rapid development of directed energy capabilities for military use, DOD says. The Pentagon aims to use the coalition...
