Air University (AU) — the US Air Force’s senior professional military education institution, home to Air War College and Air Command and Staff College — maintains a dedicated Directed Energy Weapons research guide in its library system at Fairchild-mil.libguides.com. The guide was published in February 2021 and covers the complete DEW landscape for students working toward senior Air Force leadership positions. This is not a fringe research area. It is taught at America’s military equivalent of Oxford.
What Air University Is
Air University is located at Maxwell AFB, Alabama (now co-designated Fairchild). It is the USAF’s graduate-level professional military education (PME) institution, serving students from Air War College (AWC), Air Command and Staff College (ACSC), School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS), Officer Training School (OTS), and related programmes. Graduates go on to become colonels, generals, and senior civilian defence officials. The library’s research guides represent the curriculum foundations these officers are expected to master.
Key Organisations Listed in the Guide
- AFIT Center for Directed Energy (CDE) — Air Force Institute of Technology’s dedicated DEW research centre at Wright-Patterson AFB. Produces PhD-level DE research for the USAF.
- Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Directed Energy — afresearchlab.com/technology/directed-energy. Primary USAF DEW development programme.
- DARPA — darpa.mil. Multiple classified and unclassified DE programmes across all services.
- Directed Energy Professional Society (DEPS) — deps.org. The professional community organisation for DE practitioners across government, military, and industry.
- Boeing — Active DEW programme including compact laser and HPM systems.
- Lockheed Martin — Active HEL programme including HELIOS naval laser weapon system.
- Honeywell Aerospace — DE-related aerospace systems.
Why This Matters for UAP Research
Air University produces the officers who command US airspace. The fact that DEW is a core curriculum topic at this level means senior Air Force officers from 2021 onward are expected to understand directed energy weapons as a fundamental element of air operations. That understanding encompasses both offensive DEW — disabling enemy systems — and defensive DEW — countering objects in controlled airspace. The same curriculum that teaches these officers about countering adversary drones also equips them to understand UAP from an electromagnetic capability perspective. The guide exists because the Air Force considers it operationally essential.
Source: Air University Library, Directed Energy Weapons Research Guide. Websites section, February 2021. fairchild-mil.libguides.com/Directed_Energy_Weapons