Defense Speak Interpreted: Update on the Continuing Resolution and Budget Process for Defense
American Made Advocacy: Reshoring—About Trust, Not Just Geography
Beyond the Board: The Future of Innovation—Why the Electronics Industry Needs You
RTX to Create Network of 'Energy Webs' for DARPA
December 12, 2023 | RTXEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Raytheon, an RTX business, has received a $10 million contract from DARPA to design and develop a wireless airborne relay system to deliver energy into contested environments.
The Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay program, known as POWER, aims to revolutionize energy distribution by leveraging power beaming for near-instantaneous energy transport in a resilient, multi-path network.
Under the two-year contract, Raytheon will create an airborne relay design to enable "webs" capable of harvesting, transmitting and redirecting optical beams. These "webs" will transmit energy from ground sources to high altitude for the precision, long-range operation of unmanned systems, sensors and effectors. Harvesting energy will ultimately reduce the military's dependence on fuel as well as its delivery and storage.
"Energy is essential in the modern battlespace, and it is critical to achieving military objectives," said Colin Whelan, president of Advanced Technology at Raytheon. "When operating in contested environments, energy may not always be available or abundant, making the need to generate, store and re-distribute it vital. This technology seeks to enable our military to generate power where it is safe and efficient to do so and easily distribute it to other platforms."
The POWER program is part of DARPA's Energy Web Dominance portfolio, which aims to establish more dynamic energy transport across air, space, maritime, land and undersea domains. By establishing energy web dominance, military commanders will be able to reroute energy in a matter of seconds or minutes, enabling them to pivot capability near instantaneously without reconfiguring supply lines.
Work on this program is being performed in El Segundo, California.
Share on:
Suggested Items
IEEE Study Leverages Silicon Photonics for Scalable and Sustainable AI Hardware
04/14/2025 | PRNewswireThe emergence of AI has profoundly transformed numerous industries. Driven by deep learning technology and Big Data, AI requires significant processing power for training its models. While the existing AI infrastructure relies on graphical processing units (GPUs), the substantial processing demands and energy expenses associated with its operation remain key challenges.
Dongguk University Researchers Advance Lithium-Ion Battery Technology with Hybrid Anode Material
04/14/2025 | PRNewswireResearchers from Dongguk University have achieved a significant breakthrough in lithium-ion battery technology by developing a novel hybrid anode material.
Foxconn Joins Hands with 30 Suppliers to Reduce Carbon Emissions by 15,000 Tons in Two Years
04/09/2025 | FoxconnHon Hai Technology Group, the world’s largest technology manufacturer and service provider, has participated in climate actions such as CA100+ and RE100 in recent years and pledged to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
LiU and Siemens Energy Enter Into Strategic Partnership
04/01/2025 | Linköping UniversityIn order to find long-term solutions to future challenges in the energy field, Linköping University and Siemens Energy AB sign a strategic partnership agreement.
Meyer Burger, Memodo Sign Supply Agreement for Italy
03/28/2025 | Meyer BurgerMeyer Burger Technology AG and photovoltaic distributor Memodo have signed a supply agreement. The high-performance modules “Made in Germany” were manufactured at the Freiberg plant in Germany and are intended for the Italian market.