The US Navy has launched a new training program for sailors operating laser weapons at its Directed Energy Systems Integration Laboratory (DESIL) in California.
Run by Naval Surface Warfare Center – Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD), the program allows sailors to earn a new Laser Weapon System Operator Navy Enlisted Classification for operating and maintaining the Optical Dazzling Interdictor – Navy (ODIN) laser system.
ODIN uses a laser designed to “blind” aerial drone sensors while also providing high-resolution long-range surveillance and tracking capabilities.
The platform is now fielded aboard seven American surface combatants, according to the service.
The course will also support sailors working with other systems, including the High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance, or HELIOS, installed on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Preble.
Participants earn the new qualification by completing two five-day classes covering control processes and sustainment, which include practical exercises using deployed ODIN equipment.
‘Agent to the Fleet’
The military noted that the new course highlights NSWC PHD’s role in advancing the ODIN system at DESIL and reflects the technology’s growing maturity, following the division’s push for a formal training program after the weapon’s introduction in 2020.
The hub, located at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu, is the navy’s sole maritime directed energy testing site with access to sea, air, and land targets.
“DESIL has become a trusted agent to the fleet,” said Davidson Sim, directed energy sustainment systems engineer at the site.
“When NSWC PHD got started in directed energy, it was basically science projects. Now these ODIN systems have proven themselves important in a tactical environment. We’ve overcome the hurdles of embracing directed energy, and we can take that foundation and apply it to the next-gen systems.”
