Short Courses
These short courses were offered on Monday 13 November 2023 in conjunction with the 2023 Directed Energy
Systems Symposium.
Continuous Learning Point (CLP) credits were awarded by DEPS for completion of the short courses.
All short courses offered had particpation restrictions which are defined here and specified in
the Classification section of each course description.
- Distribution C - Restricted to employees of the U.S. Federal Government or its contractors and UK citizens with proper access.
- Distribution D - Restricted to employees of the U.S. Department of Defense or its contractors and UK citizens with proper access
- Secret - Restricted to those who have submitted the necessary security clearance and base access forms.
Course 1. Directed Energy Systems Engineering
Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution D
Instructor: Robert M. Newton, USAF, Retired - NCE Inc.
Duration: Half-day course, runs 0800-1200
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This introductory course is designed to provide an appreciation of Systems Engineering in the pursuit of the Directed Energy (DE) Weapons revolution. After many decades of Research & Development, emerging DE weapons systems must navigate the technology's "valley of death" through thoughtful application of Systems Engineering principles to successfully field new warfighter capabilities.
The course will introduce the principles of Systems Engineering, define DE's High Energy Lasers (HEL) and High-Power Microwave (HPM) Systems, then review DoD guidance and tools in the context of the warfighters' missions. Conceptual HEL/HPM applications will provide instantiation examples and enable interactive discussions.
At the end of the course, attendees will be better able to craft their programs to leverage proven DoD SE processes and effectively integrate into existing and future DoD weapons systems/networks. The course will cover the Systems Engineering Process throughout the Lifecycle. Topics include:
- The Big Picture/Overview
- First, SE Principles
- DE Weapon Systems Definitions: HEL & HPM
- Military Requirements and User Interactions
- DoD SE Guides to include Mission Engineering (ME), Digital Engineering, System-of-Systems (SoS), Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA), Software Engineering (SWE), and The Software Acquisition Pathway
- Systems Architecture and its application to DE Systems
- Tools to Enable Engineering Success: Modeling & Simulation (M&S) and How M&S supports DoD Processes
- Testing as an Integral Part of SE: the Different Types of Test & Evaluation (T&E)
- SE for High Energy Laser Weapon System Integration and T&E
- SE for HPM Weapon Systems and T&E
Intended Audience: This course is open to the public and requires no specific background as it is general
in nature, but rich in helping to understand the fundamental concepts of DE Weapon Systems and how to apply System
Engineering processes.
Instructor Biographies: Bob Newton is an advanced systems developer with over 20-year DE experience. Currently he leads a defense technology company in applying his over 35-years of US Air Force and commercial industry experience. Beginning with a technical education in Aerospace Engineering from The Ohio State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, his mission perspective comes from F-16 fighter and special operations. He is an acquisition professional and test pilot with over 5000 hours in over 60 types of aircraft. His specific acquisition related responsibilities involved F-16 performance / flying qualities / avionics / sensors / weapons flight test and airworthiness certification, F-22 program management, Air Force Material Command headquarters, Pentagon Air Staff, and industry. He has commanded flying units and is a veteran of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM.
Course 2. Wargaming Directed Energy
Classification: CUI, Limited Distribution D
Instructor: Dr. Garrett Darl Lewis, AFRL Directed Energy Directorate
Duration: Half-day course, runs 0800-1200
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This course will introduce participants to the types and applications of contemporary
wargames, provide a history of wargaming, and propose principles on the capabilities and limitations of wargaming
based on the evidence provided by that history. It will establish a foundation in the roles, skills, and
opportunities associated with wargaming using practical examples and mini exercises. The second part of the course
presents an overview of processes used to organize, develop, and execute experimentation wargames for innovative and
futuristic concepts, with a particular emphasis on the development, adjudication, and analysis of directed energy
concepts. It will explore how different organizations develop games from the tactical to strategic levels to
influence and inform next generation warfare, and it will challenge participants to bring their own expertise to
bear in identifying the possibilities associated with bringing novel tools to the future force mix.
Intended Audience: The course is designed for junior and senior technical engineers and managers who seek
an understanding of experimentation wargaming and its application to support weapon system concept development and
transition to the warfighter.
Instructor Biography: Dr. Garrett D. Lewis is the Wargaming Principal Investigator within the Air Force
Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. In this role, Dr. Lewis
leads the directorate's wargaming efforts to promote robust development and employment of next generation directed
energy technology. Dr. Lewis incorporates robust modeling, simulation, and analysis techniques to support
development of directed energy requirements and doctrine within the laboratory and across Air Force, Joint, and
Coalition partners.
Prior to his current position, Dr. Lewis was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Washington University in St.
Louis, where he used game theory and machine learning techniques to understand the development of public policy,
with a special emphasis on science policy and public health. During his academic career, Dr. Lewis taught classes
in public policy, statistics and machine learning, game theory, and molecular biology. He earned his doctorate
from Princeton University after completing his Bachelor of Science at the California Institute of Technology.
Course 3. Atmospheric Laser Propagation
Classification: CUI, Limited Distribution D
Instructors:
- Steven Fiorino, AFIT
- Jaclyn Schmidt, AFIT
Duration: Full-day course, runs 0800-1700
Credits awarded: 4 CLPs
Course Description: This course addresses how to characterize and quantify the major effects of the atmosphere on directed energy weapons propagation. A first principles atmospheric propagation and characterization code called the Laser Environmental Effects Definition and Reference (LEEDR) is described and demonstrated. LEEDR enables the creation of climatologically- or numerical weather prediction (NWP)-derived vertical profiles of temperature, pressure, water vapor content, optical turbulence, and atmospheric particulates and hydrometeors as they relate to line-by-line or band-averaged layer extinction coefficient magnitude at any wavelength from 200 nm to 8.6 m. Applying those atmospheric effects to High Energy Lasers (HELs) is addresses by introducing and demonstrating a high-fidelity scaling-law HEL propagation coded called the High Energy Laser End-to-End Operational Simulation (HELEEOS). The course outline is as follows:
- Intro to atmospheric structure and constituents
- Atmospheric boundary layer
- Aerosol / fog / clouds
- Atmospheric radiative / propagation effects
- Extinction, refraction
- Optical turbulence, scintillation
- HEL thermal blooming effects in the atmosphere
- Optics, beam control: turbulence / thermal blooming compensation
- High Energy Laser End to End Operational Simulation (HELEEOS)
- Atmospheric Effects on Propagation Tools
- Weather Cubes performance assessments
- Incorporating real-time observations
- Q/A & Atmospheric Propagation Model Demos
Intended Audience: US Government personnel and their direct contractors who have program requirements for or are interested in methods and tools to assess realistic environments and environmental effects for HEL modeling and simulation, HEL mission planning, and/or military systems operations. The course assumes the students have some technical background in radiative transfer through the atmosphere--either via an undergraduate degree or career experience.
Instructor Biographies:
Steven T. Fiorino received his BS degrees in geography and meteorology from Ohio State (1987) and Florida State (1989) universities. He additionally holds an MS in atmospheric dynamics from Ohio State (1993) and a PhD in physical meteorology from Florida State (2002). He is a retired USAF Lt Col who is currently a Professor of Atmospheric Physics within the Engineering Physics Department at AFIT and is the Director of the AFIT Center for Directed Energy. His research interests include microwave remote sensing, development of weather signal processing algorithms, and atmospheric effects on military systems such as high-energy lasers and weapons of mass destruction. Dr. Fiorino is a member of SPIE, AMS, AIAA, OSA, and DEPS.
Jaclyn E. Schmidt received her BS degree in meteorology (2010) from the University of South Alabama, and her professional career is rooted in atmospheric and oceanographic data analysis for DoD and military service support, including NOAA's National Data Buoy Center and the Naval Oceanographic Office. She is currently the Laser Environmental Effects Definition and Reference (LEEDR) POC for the Center for Directed Energy (CDE) at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). Her research interests include numerical weather modeling, aerosol effects on radiative transfer, and enhancements to modeling and simulations tools as they relate to the directed energy and intelligence communities. She is a member of DEPS and AMS.
Course 4. Tri-Service HEL Lethality Testing & Modeling
Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution D
Instructors:
- Dr. Christopher Lloyd
- Mr. Chuck Lamar
- Mr. Bryan Knott
- Ms. Emily Nugent
Duration: Full-day course, runs 0800-1700
Credits awarded: 4 CLPs
Course Description: The Tri-Service Lethality short course consists of two distinct sessions as described below.
The Lethality Testing/Equipment Session will provide a discussion of all elements of HEL Lethality testing.
The course will address data collection standards to be applied during the planning and execution of the test to
assure meaningful and accurate data is collected. It will describe measurement techniques for measuring beam
profile and other laser parameters during the execution of the test. Experimental test setup and processes
will be described along with data acquisition requirements for targets, facility and test conditions as well
as the instrumentation and equipment necessary to acquire those measurements. The testing session will conclude
with a discussion of testing strategy for successful conduct of Dynamic Testing. This will include development
of test matrices to describe all the key test parameters as well as techniques and methods to execute HEL
Lethality full scale target testing.
The Modeling & Simulation Tools/Techniques Session will describe the models, codes and tools utilized
to analyze and predict Laser System performance in a variety of ground-based, air-based and at-sea based scenarios.
Model discussions will include high-fidelity physics based models as well as fast-running codes to provide vulnerability
assessment for system level modeling codes. The high-fidelity modeling will describe the key parameters and the physics
associated with laser / material interaction. Engineering-level modeling codes will be described that identifies the
key target and laser parameters used to analyze a wide set of target scenarios and engagements. The full scope of
end-to-end modeling will be described as used in DoD Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) decision processes. This session
will be concluded with a description and demonstration of the HEL JTO published Laser Lethality Knowledge Base.
Intended Audience: Students attending this course should have an undergraduate degree in science or engineering.
The course is tailored for the system program manager, system designer, and the lethality analyst who are interested in
learning the full gamut of HEL lethality and target vulnerability analysis and testing. Experience in the field would be
helpful but not necessary.
Instructor Biographies: Dr. Christopher Lloyd is currently leading the Navy’s High Energy Laser Lethality program.
He has been a Lead Scientist at NSWC Dahlgren since 2009, where he serves as the Lethality IPT Lead for the Solid State
Laser-Technology Maturation program (SSL-TM). He worked at the Naval Research Laboratory for 9 years, supporting
material fabrication and laser testing efforts for PMS-405 and NSWC Dahlgren. He has coordinated several HEL lethality
field and laboratory tests and collaborated jointly with the Army and Air Force lethality teams to support the Navy’s
SSL-TM, HEL JTO and Ground Based Air Defense (GBAD) laser programs. Dr. Lloyd received his Ph.D. in Physical Sciences
from George Mason University in 2009.
Mr. Chuck LaMar leads the U.S. Army High Energy Laser Lethality program. As such, Mr. LaMar led the Directed Energy
Alternative system engineering for the recent U.S. Army Analysis of Alternatives. He is also the program manager for
the Army’s Solid State Laser Testbed; a facility dedicated to lethality and propagation studies for High Energy Lasers.
In addition, he represents the Army on the JTO Lethality and Beam Control TAWG. He has written over 50 professional
papers and publications in the field of High Energy Lasers.
Course 5. DE Warfighter 101
Classification: Classified, NATO Secret
Instructor: Robert M. Newton, USAF, Retired
Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This course is an introductory course on war fighting with Directed Energy Weapons, including High Energy Laser (HEL) Weapons and High-Power Microwave (HPM) Weapons. The course does not teach the scientific equations or "how to build" a Directed Energy Weapon, nor does it assume the student has any technical background or experience in war fighting. This course provides basic war fighting capability principles and DE opportunities for technical and non-technical audiences. With the expansion to the classified setting, the course reviews and discusses capability gaps and seams and the necessary DE Weapon qualities to fill those needs.
This course was originally designed for warfighters, so it presents Directed Energy basics and ties them into potential military operations and applications. As HEL and HPM weapon systems are rapidly maturing and now entering warfighter field trials, the war fighting issues confronting program managers, logisticians, politicians, other non-scientific background Department of Defense, contractors, and even our allies demand a better understanding of Directed Energy Weapons in a practical way. Therefore, this HEL/HPM course transforms the complex science involved into technically simplified issues and examples. Professionals without a technical background will be able to appreciate what the Directed Energy Weapons are (and what they are not, i.e., "Myth Busting"), and how they might be employed to complement the current arsenal of Kinetic Energy Weapons (i.e., missiles, rockets, bombs, bullets, etc.). On the other hand, this course will be helpful to scientists and engineers who may have a background in Directed Energy Weapons and want to know more about operational needs, the intended Concepts of Operation (CONOPS), and system suitability challenges.
The course also provides some real-world examples from past HEL and HPM weapon systems programs, including pictures and videos.
Intended Audience: This course is intended for students without a technical background in war fighting and/or DE. The course serves as a basic introduction to the applied operational characteristics of HEL and HPM weapon systems.
Instructor Biography: Bob Newton is an advanced systems developer with over 20-year DE experience. Currently he leads a defense technology company in applying his over 35-years of US Air Force and commercial industry experience. Beginning with a technical education in Aerospace Engineering from The Ohio State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, his mission perspective comes from F-16 fighter and special operations. He is an acquisition professional and test pilot with over 5000 hours in over 60 types of aircraft. His specific acquisition related responsibilities involved F-16 performance / flying qualities / avionics / sensors / weapons flight test and airworthiness certification, F-22 program management, Air Force Material Command headquarters, Pentagon Air Staff, and industry. He has commanded flying units and is a veteran of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM.
Course 6. HPM Effects and Data Collection
Classification: CUI, Limited Distribution D
Instructor: Dr. Timothy Clarke, Air Force Research Laboratory
Duration: Half-day course, runs 1300-1700
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This course will provide a basic overview of Radio Frequency Directed Energy (RF DE) and the effects of an RF DE system on electronic systems. The course will cover what RF DE is, how it is similar to but different from classic Electronic Warfare (EW) and Nuclear generated Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP), as well as how it penetrates targets systems and produces effects ranging from temporary interference to permanent damage. It will provide an overview of how the effects data are collected, and how they are fed into models that quantify the effectiveness of a system against a target. It will address the statistical nature of RF coupling to electronics and the associated effects, and how they are characterized in terms of probability of effect (Pe) curves. Finally, it will cover some RF effects models and how they may be used to predict effects on targets. Topics include:
- Narrow Band and Wide Band RF DE Systems and Waveforms
- RF Propagation and Coupling
- Effects on Electronic Targets and Probability of Effect Curves
- Models for Characterizing the Effectiveness of RF DE Systems
- Basic Physics Models for RF Effects
Intended Audience: The course is intended for anyone who wants to learn to the basics of RF DE and effects on electronics. It is meant for individual with some background in science or engineering and/or in technical program management.
Instructor Biography: Dr. Timothy Clarke is the High Power Electromagnetics (HPEM) Effects Technology Manager at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. He has worked in
the area of HPEM for about 15 years. His PhD is from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical
Physics, Cambridge University.
Course 7. Satellite Safety During Laser Firings & Laser Deconfliction
Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C
Instructor: Maj McLemore, Laser Clearinghouse
Duration: Half-day course; 1300-1700
Credits awarded: 2 CLPs
Course Description: This course is intended to teach the "Why, Who, What, How and What's New" of satellite safety during laser firings. Special emphasis will be placed on one of the primary risk mitigation approaches: laser deconfliction - the process by which satellites are protected from accidental illumination by lasers.
The Department of Defense uses a comprehensive risk analysis process for satellite safety -- deconfliction is a critical piece of the testing process for DoD lasers and DoD test ranges. A knowledgeable and proactive approach by the development and testing organizations can maximize safe firing opportunities and minimize frustration. The course is also intended to help the laser community work together in this area and provide a consistent source of information on current issues, capabilities developed by various DoD organizations, and what's in store for the future. The course has recently been updated to include the Navy's development of a generic software-only safety system that is available for DoD laser programs as well as the innovative new capability called Special Use Space Ranges.
The goals of this course are to familiarize the student with the reasons behind the risk management process, provide details on how to work effectively with the Laser Clearinghouse (LCH), share technical and operational information on risk mitigation tools, and disseminate information on points of contact to simplify and clarify the process. In addition, the course will cover efforts in the laser and satellite communities to standardize the process and make the safety requirements align with risk assessment methodologies.
Topics to be covered include:
- Intro - who, what, where, when, how of satellite safety during laser firings
- Policy - defining the DoD risk management policy, process, and environment for satellite safety during laser firings
- Implementation - hazard assessments, risk mitigation approaches, and the process for how we keep satellites safe
- Technical details - how do we identify risks? What tools are available? Understanding the planning, analysis, validation, and authorization process for risk mitigation solutions
- Future innovations - new deconfliction approaches, Space Ranges, and Probabilistic Risk Analysis
Intended Audience: Anyone who is currently involved or anticipates involvement in laser system development, testing, or fielding will benefit from this course. Test planners and managers as well as those technically involved with the testing are welcome.
Instructor Biography: TBD
Last updated: 2 December 2023
