Will the F35 receive a high energy laser weapon?

The American F35 fighter is far from being devoid of weaknesses, but it nevertheless has two undeniable qualities, namely its high performance info-centric architecture coupled with an array of sensors covering a broad spectrum, and its overpowered F-135 engine, which develops almost 13 tons of dry thrust, and 19 tons with post-combustion. These two elements make it the perfect candidate to receive the new directed energy weapons under development in the United States, and in particular a high energy laser, as in the framework of the US Air Force's SHIELD program.

One of the executive directors of the American manufacturer has indeed indicated that the subject was now taken very seriously by Lockheed-Martin as by Pratt & Whitney who built the F135 turbojet. The two companies are in fact working together to be able to integrate, in the years to come, a high-energy laser on the device, taking advantage of its detection and calculation capacities to control the shot, and of the potential power of the motor to provide the energy essential for the operation of such a weapon.

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