ERIS Shopping Notice: High Duty Cycle High Energy Lasers (HEL) for SWaP-Constrained Systems

DARPA's Strategic Technologies Office issued a shopping notice on the ERIS Marketplace on June 4, 2026 seeking high duty cycle, high-energy laser solutions for SWaP-constrained platforms, with submissions accepted through November 30, 2026. The requirement targets moderate-power systems in the 1–20 kilowatt range capable of sustained continuous operation in size, weight, and power-limited environments such as Stryker vehicles and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. DARPA identifies the core technical challenge as overcoming heat management and thermal exhaustion limitations that currently prevent extended high duty cycle operation. Submissions must address laser generation and amplification approaches, scaling methodology, cooling architectures, wavelength flexibility, beam coherence maintenance, and phase control capabilities. Evaluation criteria emphasize demonstrated understanding of current state-of-the-art limitations, significant technical innovation tailored to austere platform constraints, team expertise in laser technology, and potential impact on defense and commercial applications. Existing ERIS solution providers may flag current awardable solutions via email to ERIS@darpa.mil; new submissions must be posted to the ERIS portal during the June–November collection periods with video title formatted as "DARPA-SN-26-82: [Solution Title]" and a follow-up notification email to ERIS@darpa.mil. DARPA reserves the right to make one or more awards prior to the closing date, and submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis as received.