Nextgov reported Monday that the USAF’s research organization had issued a request for a vendor to provide the service with wargame modeling for scenarios featuring directed energy weapons “to determine if and how well AFRL/RD and industry technologies can help address warfighter needs and gaps including complementing current fielded technologies and those under development by others,” the request states, referring to the lab’s Directed Energy Directorate (RD).
“Distributed wargames provide a method of working with warfighters to develop tactics, techniques and procedures - TTPs - and concept of employment - CONEMP - to utilize these AFRL/RD and industry technologies to meet the warfighter needs and gaps,” the request continues.
Prospective contractors must submit their capability statements to AFRL by August 19.
Directed energy weapons have become a key battleground in the emerging arms race both on Earth and in space, with the Pentagon testing a variety of both offensive and defensive weapons as other countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and China rush to develop their own.
India has also tasked its new Defense Space Agency with carrying out space war games simulations, in part to explore questions similar to Washington’s about the how’s and what-if’s of directed energy weapons in war.
