On October 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the first group of Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Licensees and Green Light Approved investment funds granted under the Small Business Investment Company Critical Technology Initiative (SBICCT Initiative).
The 13 funds currently Licensed and Green Light Approved collectively project to invest over $4 billion in nearly 1700 portfolio companies. These are focused on all 14 DoD Critical Technology Areas, key to fulfilling the SBICCT Initiative’s primary objective to attract and scale private investment into technology areas vital to economic and national security.
Directed Energy – described by the U.S. DoD Office of Strategic Capital as “the use of lasers, high power microwaves, and high energy particle beams to produce precision disruption, damage, or destruction of military targets at range” – is one of the Critical Technology Areas outlined in the 2023 National Defense Science and Technology Strategy.
Leveraging Directed Energy as a C-UAS capability has continuously developed as a priority for the US Military. Earlier this month, Leonardo DRS and BlueHalo announced the successful live-fire demonstration of a new Counter Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) Directed Energy (DE) Stryker vehicle, leveraging BlueHalo’s 26kW LOCUST Laser Weapon System to successfully destroy numerous drones.
Earlier in July 2024, the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) released a Request for Information (RFI) seeking High-Energy Laser (HEL)-based weapon solutions. Last month, Epirus announced the development of its latest High-Power Microwave Product – Expeditionary Directed Energy Counter-Swarm (ExDECS) – in partnership with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL) and the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO).
With the DoD and SBA’s announcement this week, it is likely that funding to develop Directed Energy capabilities will continue to increase, assisting in the delivery of a key C-UAS capability for the U.S. Military for years to come.
Post Image Credit: Lockheed Martin.
