Mod note: Put articles in the proper category, else they may end up laser-targets themselves.The Pentagon this week edged closer to mounting missile-destroying lasers on unmanned and manned aircraft, awarding $26 million to defense contractors to develop the technology.
Under the name Project Endurance, DARPA, the Department of Defense's research agency, awarded Northrop Grumman $14.6 million and Lockheed Martin $11.4 million in contracts for the effort, according to Military & Aerospace Electronics. Called "Project Endurance," the research will "develop technology for pod-mounted lasers to protect a variety of airborne platforms from emerging and legacy electro-optical IR guided surface-to-air missiles," according to DARPA's 2014 budget request.