Energy conversion issues for airborne directed energy weapons

The ability of an airborne directed energy weapon (DEW) to effectively strike a target depends strongly on the ability to develop, deliver, and manage the required energy for the onboard DEW source. The energy flow within various generic airborne DEW systems is examined from power generation to waste heat management. Each airborne DEW system is analyzed by considering the energy flow through an example configuration of generalized DEW system components. The numbers used in the analysis are not representative of any airborne DEW system under development, but simply allow for an illustration of energy flow within a DEW system of advanced power level.