VTG 'dazzles' with Navy laser win
By
Nick Wakeman
VTG will install laser systems on five Navy destroyers to knock out the sensors of unmanned aerial systems that threaten them.
In recent years, VTG has installed a laser device as a pilot for the Navy and now will proceed on rolling the system out on five Arleigh-Burke-class destroyers under a new $9 million contract.
The laser device is known as the AN/SEQ 4 Optical Dazzler Interdictor, or ODIN. It is a defensive technology for “optical dazzling of adversaries’ long-range and very long-range surveillance systems,” VTG said in a press release.
In essence, the ODIN laser “blinds” the surveillance and reconnaissance sensors. The laser is built to protect ships from threatening unmanned aerial systems.
VTG installed systems on the USS Stockdale and USS Spruance as part of a pilot under a sole-source contract. The contract for the five destroyers was competed in a full-and-open environment, the company said.
“The ODIN laser represents a significant advancement for the Navy in addressing asymmetric threats and protecting our sailors,” said John Hassoun, VTG president and CEO.
This laser is being developed and built by the government at the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Dahlgren Division. Under the new contract, VTG will work with the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Port Hueneme Division to install the systems on the destroyers.