The Marines want more, and Albuquerque is going to supply them.
Boeing on Friday held a ceremony to cut a ribbon on a new manufacturing site in Albuquerque, where it will build directed energy laser systems, including a weapon that has been field-tested by the Marine Corps for the past several years.
Boeing, a multinational aerospace company that designs airplanes, rockets, missiles and other products, has long had a presence in Albuquerque. The company has about 160 employees in the city, said Ron Dauk, the site lead for Boeing’s lasers and optical systems. The employees in Albuquerque focus on directed energy, or laser, technology, Daulk said.
The technology has been used to help spacecraft dock on the International Space Station, he said. Boeing’s Albuquerque employees also designed the Mobile Compact Laser Weapon Systems, used by Marines overseas for the past four years. The system looks like a Humvee with a camera on the top of it, but the camera is actually a laser the can shoot down unmanned aerial systems, or drones, that threaten troops.
The system will be manufactured in Albuquerque.
“It’s time to build multiples of these. We’re talking to a number of customers who are ready to start buying these systems,” Dauk said.
Boeing will hire 20 to 30 employees this year to manufacture the weapons systems. Dauk said Boeing likely will continue to keep expanding its Albuquerque footprint in coming years. The company plans to invest about $5 million in its Albuquerque facility, which is located in a strip mall at 4411 The 25 Way.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said after the ribbon-cutting that expanding directed energy opportunities in the state has long been a desire for Albuquerque mayors and New Mexico governors.
“That is in and of itself is a good thing for our city,” Keller said of the jobs Boeing is pledging to bring to the city. “But this one is a little bit more special because of the industry itself. We wanted to be a leader in directed energy. … It’s an old idea that comes out of our labs, and to see it happening today is really special.”
The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Directed Energy Directorate is based at Kirtland Air Force Base.
Dauk said ongoing wars in Ukraine and Israel have highlighted the importance of finding ways to combat drones.
“Those conflicts are showing that small (unmanned aerial systems) are becoming a very prevalent threat,” he said. “That’s a threat that I think is expanding across the globe, and we’re here developing systems to meet that need.”
He said that Boeing in Albuquerque will continue to build bigger and strong laser weapon systems.
“Using a laser and a beam of light we are able to automatically track the targets and then we select an aim point and maintain that on the target until it’s defeated and comes down to the ground,” Dauk said. “We’re building bigger systems with higher power and longer range capability to defeat a wide range of threats.”
Keller said the city welcomes Boeing’s investment.
“I think we know that we have to be realistic. If folks who don’t like us have technology that’s trying to hurt us, we need to protect our people with technology to keep us safe,” Keller said of the laser weapon system. “In many ways, it’s no different than a bulletproof vest.”
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