RTX Ventures has invested in laser fusion company Xcimer Energy to develop pulsed-laser technology for potential use in US military directed-energy systems.

The collaboration brings together two applications that share a fundamental engineering challenge: building powerful lasers that can fire repeatedly, reliably and affordably.

Xcimer is developing excimer laser technology for its fusion power system. The company says the same approach could provide the performance and scalability needed for directed-energy weapons, potentially offering longer-range capability than existing systems.

RTX’s investment is also intended to support Xcimer’s fusion program. In June, the US Department of Energy approved Xcimer’s fusion pilot power plant design under its Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program.

One laser, two missions

Laser fusion works by using intense laser pulses to compress and heat fuel until it reaches conditions where nuclear fusion can occur. The challenge is developing lasers that can deliver these pulses repeatedly while keeping energy consumption, maintenance, and operating costs under control.

Those same requirements matter for military laser systems. A directed-energy weapon must deliver enough energy to engage a target while remaining efficient and reliable enough for repeated use. Xcimer says its excimer-based system is designed around those requirements.

“As the United States accelerates the development of next-generation air defense, the need for affordable and scalable directed energy systems has never been more urgent,” said Conner Galloway, co-founder, CEO and Chief Science Officer at Xcimer. “Our excimer-based laser technology offers the performance, speed and inherent scalability needed at a fraction of the cost and complexity of today’s systems.”

The partnership will now examine how the laser technology could be integrated and containerized into RTX defense systems.

That could be important because one of the challenges facing directed-energy weapons is making them practical outside laboratory environments. Systems must fit into deployable platforms while generating enough power to engage threats.

Fusion technology enters air defense

RTX brings experience in sensing, command and control, and air-defense systems to the partnership. The company says those capabilities could help integrate Xcimer’s laser technology into future defense platforms.

“We believe Xcimer’s pulsed-laser technology lines up perfectly with our expertise in areas like advanced sensing, command and control and air defense,” said RTX Chief Technology Officer Juan de Bedout. “Together we will explore how we can best integrate these technologies into advanced, scalable defense systems able to defeat a range of new and evolving threats.”

Xcimer is pursuing commercial fusion power alongside the defense work. The company expects its fusion technology to begin delivering electricity to the grid by the mid-2030s.

The dual-use development could give the laser technology two potential markets: commercial fusion energy and military directed-energy systems.

For now, the RTX-Xcimer agreement is focused on exploring integration and development rather than announcing an operational weapon. The companies will need to demonstrate that the laser can meet the demanding requirements of a deployable defense system while maintaining the efficiency, reliability, and scalability needed for repeated operation.

Norwegian defense company KONGSBERG has selected Echodyne’s MESA radar platform for multiple air and surface applications, starting with its PROTECTOR remote weapon stations. The compact radar has already been integrated into the PROTECTOR RS4 and RS6 systems.

The collaboration brings together KONGSBERG’s weapon-station architecture and Collaborative Fire Control capabilities with Echodyne’s solid-state radar. It is designed for static, crewed, and uncrewed platforms. 

The system helps them detect, track, and engage fast-moving drones. It also requires less space, weight, and power than traditional high-performance electronically scanned array radars.

Compact radar strengthens weapon stations

The integration provides the PROTECTOR systems with the precise radar data required to operate as counter-unmanned aircraft system effectors. MESA delivers range, range-rate, bearing, and movement data while maintaining stable tracks on agile targets with low radar signatures.

This data allows the radar to direct and stabilize the weapon station’s optical fire-control system on a target.  According to Echodyne, the combination can help the system sustain its target lock, reduce the time between detection and engagement, and increase its chances of hitting a drone.

“KONGSBERG has set the standard for remote weapon systems through decades of field experience, disciplined engineering and close collaboration with operators,” said Eben Frankenberg, CEO of Echodyne. 

“Integrating MESA radar gives the PROTECTOR family the precise, stable and persistent tracks needed to cue the fire-control system, sustain target lock and act decisively against fast-moving, low-signature drone threats,” he added. 

“Just as important, MESA delivers that performance in a compact, software-defined package that can scale across a large installed base and adapt as the threat evolves,” he continued.

Radar supports precise airburst timing

Accurate radar measurements become particularly important when PROTECTOR weapon stations use programmable airburst ammunition. Range and range-rate information helps the fire-control system time the munition so that its effect occurs at the intended point along a drone’s flight path.

MESA can also operate as part of a wider network of sensors and weapon systems. A cooperative search radar or another sensor can initially detect a threat and send its track to a radar-equipped PROTECTOR station. The local radar can then refine the incoming information, maintain the track and provide the data needed for fire control. 

This process enables distributed systems to share an air picture, allocate targets and rapidly switch their attention as individual threats are addressed.

Companies explore wider radar applications

Echodyne and KONGSBERG spent several years integrating, testing and demonstrating the radar-enabled system in field conditions. The work reflects KONGSBERG’s approach of validating new capabilities through practical testing before broader deployment.

Beyond the RS4 and RS6 integrations, the companies are examining how high-performance radar could support other air and surface missions across KONGSBERG’s portfolio. Their continued technical work will focus on resilient sensing, networked fire control and protection that can scale as threats evolve.

Both companies are exhibiting at the International Defense Industry Exhibition in Kielce, Poland, from September 8 to 11, 2026.

The U.S. Army has selected Boeing and Anduril to enter the next phase of a competition for a new midrange air-defense interceptor, the companies announced on September 9, 2026. The weapon is being developed to defend fixed and forward operating bases against cruise missiles, militarized drones, and other aerial threats.

The selection moves the program into Phase 2 of the Integrated Fires Protection Capability Increment 2 Second Interceptor effort. Boeing and Anduril will now carry out detailed design, development, integration, and demonstration work before facing a competitive test against Army requirements.

A new layer for base protection

The proposed interceptor is designed to fill a gap in the Army’s air-defense network. It would provide a midrange option between short-range systems used for point defense and longer-range weapons intended for protecting high-value targets.

Boeing is responsible for the seeker technology and compact airframe, while Anduril is developing the interceptor’s solid rocket motor. The weapon’s compact design is intended to allow military units to deploy more interceptors at each defended location.

The companies are also emphasizing affordability and production capacity. A larger number of available interceptors could help units respond to attacks involving large numbers of lower-cost aerial threats.

Modular design could speed upgrades

The interceptor will use a Modular Open Systems Architecture. This design lets crews replace or upgrade key components such as the seeker, avionics, and software without redesigning the entire weapon.

The approach could make it easier for the Army to adapt the system as aerial threats evolve. It is also intended to reduce the time and cost of introducing new capabilities.

“Our scalable production approach is designed to provide a reliable, affordable layer of defense against a range of aerial threats to protect the warfighter with practical, dependable capability when it matters most,” said Bob Ciesla, vice president of Boeing Precision Engagement Systems.

Boeing said its manufacturing approach is intended to support scaled production as the program develops.

Anduril expands rocket motor production

Anduril plans to manufacture the interceptor’s solid rocket motor at its 450-acre Mississippi Solid Rocket Motor Complex. The company has invested more than $100 million of its own money in the facility.

The site has also received $58 million through Defense Production Act funding. Anduril said the combined investment will support several propulsion programs while increasing production capacity.

The facility features a bladeless high-speed mixer that Anduril describes as the only one of its kind worldwide. Its manufacturing line can run multiple stages in parallel and produce different motor configurations.

The company said the U.S. solid rocket motor industry has become concentrated among two suppliers after decades of consolidation. Its Mississippi facility is intended to add capacity and improve supply-chain resilience.

Partnership moves into full development

Boeing and Anduril began exploring technologies for the Army program in 2024 and announced their partnership in December. Their selection now moves the concept into detailed system development and competitive demonstration.

The effort comes as the U.S. military faces growing demand for interceptors that can counter large numbers of relatively inexpensive cruise missiles and drones. Anduril said China, Russia, and Iran have spent the past decade developing mass-producible aerial threats designed to put pressure on U.S. interceptor inventories.

“We welcome the opportunity to continue in this competition,” stated Jim Bryan, executive director of Boeing Integrated Air and Missile Defense. “By combining proven seeker expertise with a purpose-built interceptor, we are delivering thoughtful, effective advances in air and missile defense that meet mission needs.”

China has reinforced artillery firepower facing the Taiwan Strait, deploying additional 155mm PLZ-05 self-propelled howitzers to replace older equipment. State broadcaster CCTV reported Sunday that a combined-arms brigade under the People’s Liberation Army’s 71st Group Army received a batch of the howitzers over the past two months. The deployment phased out the brigade’s previous 122mm artillery, an older and less capable system.

The brigade conducted its first live-fire test with the new howitzers following the deployment. The 71st Group Army belongs to the Eastern Theatre Command, which holds primary responsibility for military operations facing Taiwan, the East China Sea, and Japan.

A brigade-level first

This deployment marks the first time the PLZ-05 has been assigned specifically at the brigade level. The system was originally fielded at the group-army level, where it operated as a long-range suppression weapon rather than equipment directly integrated into brigade formations. Moving the system down to the brigade level represents a structural shift in how the PLA organizes its heavy artillery assets.

Brigade officer Sun Xialong said receiving 155mm self-propelled howitzers for the first time significantly improved the unit’s overall combat effectiveness. That framing suggests the PLZ-05’s move down to brigade level reflects a deliberate effort to streamline artillery firepower closer to frontline combat units.

Swapping between commands

The howitzers arrived painted in brown desert camouflage. The tracked vehicles appear to have been relocated from the Western Theatre Command, rather than built as new equipment specifically for the 71st Group Army. In their place, the Western Theatre Command has instead received lighter, wheeled PCL-181 155mm self-propelled howitzers. That design is better suited to the plateau and mountainous terrain that command typically operates across.

That swap suggests Beijing is deliberately matching different howitzer designs to the specific terrain and operational demands each theatre command faces. It’s a different approach than distributing identical equipment uniformly across the PLA’s various regional forces.

A year after China unveiled the world’s first operational air-breathing hypersonic missiles, the United States is launching a new program aimed at catching up. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will bring contractors together later this month. The agency plans to outline requirements for its Next Generation Hypersonic Cruise Missile, according to its website, with air-breathing propulsion sitting at the center of the effort.

Unlike rocket-powered missiles, air-breathing weapons draw oxygen directly from the atmosphere instead of carrying an onboard oxidizer. That design frees up weight that can instead go toward additional fuel or a larger payload.

China went public first

China displayed that same air-breathing approach at a massive military parade in Beijing last year. The parade marked the 80th anniversary of the country’s victory in World War II. That event introduced the YJ-19 anti-ship missile and the larger, road-mobile CJ-1000. Both are believed to run on air-breathing scramjet engines and were presented as weapons already in active service with the People’s Liberation Army.

The YJ-19’s distinctive air intake was clearly visible during the parade. Chinese state media described the CJ-1000 as built for far longer-range strikes against targets on land, at sea, or in the air. Outside of Russia’s ship-based Zircon missile, the YJ-19 and CJ-1000 are considered the world’s only other operational scramjet-driven hypersonic weapons.

More than an upgrade

DARPA has signaled it isn’t simply looking to refine existing American hypersonic designs. In an industry request issued last month, the agency called for entirely new propulsion systems, fuels, and boosters. Those systems need supporting technologies capable of withstanding the extreme heat generated during hypersonic flight.

The resulting missile could ultimately come in multiple sizes, ranging from smaller weapons carried by tactical aircraft to considerably larger systems launched from bombers or ground-based platforms. That flexibility mirrors the range of launch options China has already demonstrated across its own hypersonic missile family.

Darpa’s earlier air-breathing hypersonic effort, the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept, completed its first successful flight test in 2021. It has continued flight testing since, laying some of the technical groundwork this newer, more ambitious program now aims to build on.

A nuclear-powered submarine can disappear beneath the ocean and remain there for weeks or even months without surfacing. Unlike conventional submarines, it does not need to regularly come up for air or surface to recharge its batteries.

The secret is not simply the nuclear reactor. A nuclear submarine is essentially a self-contained environment that can generate its own power, oxygen and fresh water while carrying enough food and supplies to keep its crew alive for extended periods.

Nuclear power removes the biggest limitation

The fundamental difference is the way the submarine generates energy. Conventional diesel-electric submarines need atmospheric oxygen to run their diesel engines, while their batteries eventually need to be recharged. 

A nuclear reactor, by contrast, produces heat through nuclear fission and does not need atmospheric oxygen to operate. That allows the submarine to keep generating power while completely submerged.

In a typical naval reactor system, heat from the reactor is transferred to water in a separate steam system. The resulting steam drives turbines, which provide propulsion and generate electricity for the submarine’s other systems. The steam is then condensed back into water and reused in a closed cycle.

This gives nuclear submarines essentially unlimited range from their reactor fuel compared with conventional submarines. The U.S. Department of Energy says modern naval reactor cores can last more than 1 million miles, although the submarine’s actual deployment duration is limited by other factors.

But what about oxygen?

The crew still needs it, of course. This is where the submarine becomes more like a miniature artificial ecosystem. Modern submarines can produce oxygen onboard, allowing the crew to breathe without drawing a fresh supply from the atmosphere. At the same time, systems remove carbon dioxide and other contaminants from the enclosed air.

The U.S. Navy’s historical account of submarine operations notes that modern boats use equipment to produce fresh air, remove carbon dioxide, and filter potentially harmful vapors.

The reactor is particularly useful here because its enormous energy supply can power these life-support systems continuously. In other words, the submarine does not need to conserve its oxygen simply because it is underwater. It has systems designed to continually maintain the atmosphere inside the boat.

How do they get fresh water?

Water is another resource that could quickly become a problem for a crew spending months underwater. Modern nuclear submarines can produce fresh water from seawater, using onboard distillation systems. 

The U.S. Navy says this capability, combined with oxygen production, allows a nuclear submarine to operate independently of Earth’s atmosphere for extended periods. Fresh water can therefore be produced for drinking and other onboard needs, rather than carrying every drop required for a months-long patrol.

So what eventually forces a submarine to surface?

Surprisingly, food is one of the biggest constraints. A nuclear reactor can keep producing power, and the submarine can produce oxygen and fresh water, but its crew still needs to eat. The U.S. Navy describes food as the primary limitation on the length of a submerged patrol, while an official U.S. Navy page for the Ohio-class submarine lists approximately 60 days of endurance with food supplies.

That does not mean a nuclear submarine must physically surface every time it needs supplies. Resupply can sometimes be conducted through specialized operations, but a submarine’s ability to remain completely independent is ultimately constrained by what it can carry and what its crew requires.

What about the people inside?

Keeping the machinery running is only half the challenge. Hundreds of sailors may spend months in a confined environment with no sunlight, limited personal space, and little contact with the outside world.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History notes that nuclear submarines can operate submerged for months, while crews must cope with cramped living conditions and prolonged separation from their families. The U.S. Navy also studies the effects of disrupted sleep schedules, limited sunlight, and restricted exercise on submariners during long deployments.

That is why a nuclear submarine is better understood not simply as a warship with a reactor, but as a self-contained underwater city. The nuclear reactor supplies the energy needed to propel the vessel and operate its systems. Life-support equipment maintains the air. Desalination systems provide fresh water. Food stores sustain the crew.

Put those capabilities together, and a submarine no longer has to repeatedly return to the surface just to survive. That independence from the atmosphere is what transformed submarines from vessels that could briefly operate underwater into warships capable of remaining hidden beneath the ocean for months.