High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office: a mission overview

The High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office (HEL-JTO) was established in 2000 for the purpose of developing and executing a comprehensive investment strategy for HEL science and technology that would underpin weapons development. The JTO is currently sponsoring 80 programs across industry, academia, and government agencies with a budget of approximately $60 million. The competitively awarded programs are chosen to advance the current state of the art in HEL technology and fill technology gaps, thus providing a broad capability that can be harvested in acquisition programs by the military services.