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Overview
Symposium Contacts
Event Agenda
Short Courses
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Symposium Overview
As the Directed Energy community continued a transition from years of Science & Technology to Programs of
Record, the theme for the 2025 Systems Symposium was
"DEW Systems: The Solution to Real World Issues"
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| The Hyatt Regency Monterey was the Symposium hotel.
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The 2025 Directed Energy Systems Symposium was held 15-18 December 2025 in Monterey, CA at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel
(Visit the hotel website or and an offsite location.
The DE Systems Symposium focused on systems aspects of Directed Energy in a limited-attendance environment.
Some portions of the Systems Symposium were held at a CUI/Limited Distribution level while others were
conducted at the Secret level.
Attendance for this event was limited to U.S. citizens from government, industry and academia with appropriate clearance and/or
need-to-know, depending on which sessions they attended.
Distinguished Speakers
The following distinguished speakers spoke at our Tuesday Plenary Session:
- Vice Admiral Ann Rondeau, U.S. Navy (Ret.), President of the Naval Postgraduate School
- Dr. Chris Vergien, OUSW(R&E)/OASW(CT)
- Dr. Kelly Hammett, Director and Program Executive Officer (PEO), Space Rapid Capabilities Office (Space RCO)
- Dr. Nicholas Morley, AFRL
- Dr. Keith Krapels, Director, Technical Center, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command
- CDR Curran,U.S. Navy Commander, PEO IWS
- Dr. Sean Ross, RCCTO
Laboratory Tour - CIRPAS and LEENA, NPS Department of Meteorology
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A tour was held on Friday morning. CIRPAS Airborne Research Facility is based in an operational hangar at Marina Municipal Airport (3200 Imjin Rd., Suite A,
Marina, CA 93933), approximately 20 minutes drive from the hotel. The tour was approximately one hour.
Two laboratories within the Naval Postgraduate School's Department of Meteorology - the CIRPAS Airborne Research Facility and the Laboratory
for Environmental Effects on Naval Applications (LEENA) - showcased advanced atmospheric measurement capabilities that support electro-optical (EO)
and directed-energy (DE) research and test and evaluation applications. Together, CIRPAS and LEENA provide complementary sensing capabilities to
characterize the full atmospheric boundary layer using surface-based and airborne measurements. Both facilities have collected extensive METOC
datasets during atmospheric and defense-focused field campaigns worldwide. These efforts have supported numerous NPS student theses, faculty
research projects, and publications, and have enhanced the understanding of environmental impacts on US Navy operations.
The tour included:
- CIRPAS Airborne Research Facility - De Havilland Twin Otter -
A customized research aircraft configured for atmospheric science and environmental characterization missions.
The Twin Otter carries a comprehensive suite of basic meteorological parameters, aerosol, radiation, and turbulence sensors
with flexible mounting options for pod-, nose-, and wing-based payloads. It has supported numerous field studies relevant
to EO/DE propagation and modeling. Recent modifications include a reinforced nose section to expand payload capacity and
accommodate ISR-related instrumentation.
- LEENA Environmental Sensing Systems -
Display of gimbal-mounted EO/IR sensors, LIDAR/SODAR profilers, and meteorological and turbulence instruments used
to assess environmental effects on EO/DE propagation. These systems have been deployed concurrently with the Twin Otter
and in support of directed-energy test events such as SSL-TM, HELIOS, and HELCAP.
- Outdoor Demonstration (weather permitting) -
Live operation of the MZA DELTA-Wx system and supporting meteorological sensors for real-time environmental monitoring.
Laboratory Tour - Spacecraft Research and Design Center (SRDC)
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| The tour consisted of three testbeds.
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A tour was held on Monday
of the Naval Postgraduate School Laboratory Spacecraft Research and Design Center (SRDC)
hosted by Dr. Brij Agrawal, NPS Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Astronautical Engineering and
Director of Spacecraft Research and Design Center. SRDC laboratories are used for instruction and research in space system engineering and space
operations curricula. The emphasis has been on providing students with hands-on experience in the design, analysis, and
testing of space systems and systems and to provide students facilities for experimental research. Learn more about the
Laboratory here.
The tour consisted of three testbeds:
- NPS High Energy Laser Beam Control Research Testbed (HBCRT) -
It has a 30cm diameter telescope, acquisition sensor, and adaptive optics.
- Multi Conjugate Woofer-Tweeter Adaptive Optics Testbed -
It consists of three deformable mirror and two wavefront sensor.
- Segmented Mirror Telescope -
It consists of six segments, 3 m diameter, with 156 piezo actuators on each segments, 3 fine and 6 coarse actuators
on each segments for alignment, FSM, and focal plane.
Highlights:
- Professional Development Short Courses
- Tuesday all-day plenary session
- System-oriented CUI & Classified breakout technical sessions
- Poster Session
- Exhibits and an Exhibitor Reception
- Laboratory Tour of the Spacecraft Research and Design Center
Program and Agenda
An overview of the agenda is provided below, while the
final technical program
is available here for DEPS users that are logged into their account.
Note that login is required; only DEPS users who are logged into their DEPS account
can view the detailed agendas for DEPS events.
| Overview Agenda |
Monday, 15 December
- Short Courses
- Laboratory Tour - Spacecraft Research & Design Center
- Evening Welcome Event Co-Hosted by IPG Photonics
- Tuesday, 16 December
- Tuesday Breakfast Co-Hosted by Systems Planning and Analysis
- AM/PM Plenary Session
- Evening Reception Co-Hosted by Five-Nine Optics
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Wednesday, 17 December
- AM/PM Technical Breakout Sessions
- Wednesday Lunch Co-Hosted by Optimax
- Thursday, 18 December
- AM/PM Technical Breakout Sessions
- Symposium Adjourns
- Friday, 19 December
- Laboratory Tour - CIRPAS and LEENA
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| Symposium Contacts |
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Symposium Co-Chairs |
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Lawrence Grimes |
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Bonnie Johnson |
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Technical Program Chair |
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Conor Pogue |
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Symposium Technical Committee |
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AI for DE (Artificial Intelligence for Directed Energy) |
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Teresa Berra, Amanda Coleman |
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Airborne DE Systems |
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Matt Whiteley |
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Counter DE Warfare (CDEW) |
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John McElhenny, Kent Averett |
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DE Bioeffects |
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Emily Boice, Brent Voorhees |
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DE Manufacturability, Readiness, & Sustainment |
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Chris Behre |
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DE Systems for Non-Weapon Applications - Power Beaming, Sensing, Communications |
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Dana Teague |
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Directed Energy (DE) System Modeling & Wargaming |
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Chris Wilcox |
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HEL Components - Lasers, Combiners, Beam Control |
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Matt Whiteley |
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HEL Non-lethal Weapons |
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TBD |
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High Energy Laser (HEL) Systems |
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Neset Akozbek, Brian Curran |
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High Power Microwave (HPM) Systems |
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David Simon |
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HPM Effects & Lethality |
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George Che |
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Space-Based DE Systems |
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Victor Gamiz |
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Symposium Coordinator |
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Cynnamon Spain |
(505) 998-4910 |
Cynnamon@deps.org |
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Technical Program Coordinator |
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Devona Valdez |
(505) 998-4910 |
devona@deps.org |
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Short Courses |
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Melissa McCrary |
(505) 998-4910 |
melissa@deps.org |
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Registration & Payments |
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Raheela Bokhari |
(505) 998-4910 |
raheela@deps.org |
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Presentations and Releases |
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Devona Valdez |
(505) 998-4910 |
devona@deps.org |
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Last updated: 26 December 2025
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