![Lockheed Martin's ADAM system demonstrates UAV tracking prior to laser engagement.](http://defense-update.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/adam_uav_intercept.jpg)
The Lockheed Martin Area Defense Anti-munitions (ADAM) prototype laser weapon system successfully destroys a rocket target flying on a wire at a range of 1.6 kilometers on Dec. 10, 2012, replicating similar demonstrations conducted earlier this year. Defense-Update reports. Since August, the system has successfully engaged an unmanned aerial system target in flight at a range of approximately 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) and has destroyed four small-caliber rocket targets in simulated flight at a range of approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles). Acquisition, tracking and destruction of the target took approximately three seconds.
Lockheed Martin’s Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) system is a laser weapon system that is designed to defeat close-in improvised rocket and unmanned aerial system (UAS) threats. The system is self-contained to conduct the full engagement sequence against rockets and accepts an initial external radar cue to engage UASs.  The system uses a 10-kilowatt fiber-laser developped by the company to provide the performance needed for these types of threats. The system precisely tracks targets in cluttered optical environments and has a tracking range of more than 5 kilometers (3.1 miles). It can as a standalone system and to engage unmanned aerial systems with an external radar cue.
![A sequence from a video showing an rocket destroyed by the ADAM laser weapon](http://defense-update.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/adam_c-ram.jpg)
ADAM detects the threat and within seconds, locks on the target and establishes an aim point. When the system declares a valid aim point, it fires the laser on the target, long enough to negate the rocket or UAS. Lockheed Martin has successfully demonstrated the ADAM system in a series of tests against representative airborne targets in 2012.
Lockheed Martin developed the ADAM system under independent research and development funding. The system is configured as a land-based transportable system.
Source: Defense-Update