U.S. Air Force taps BAE for pulsed laser research

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory awarded BAE Systems a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract worth up to $19.68 million for the LUMINA research programme. The effort will study pulsed-laser technologies and their integration with solid-state laser sources and beam-control systems, with work at Kirtland Air Force Base scheduled through September 2031. Six offers were received, and $1 million in fiscal 2026 research funding was obligated initially. This is a science-and-technology contract intended to mature components and integration methods, not a procurement of deployable laser weapons or prototypes.