MILDA: mid-infrared laser source for DIRCM application

We report on the development and characteristics of infrared solid state laser as compact and robust light sources for Directed Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM). DIRCM against infrared missile seekers requires wavelength tunable laser sources. When adding an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) to a pump laser source, it is possible to cover the 2-5 μm wavelength transmission windows. After a risk reduction phase of five years, CILAS has designed a solid state laser source (SSLS) adapted for DIRCM jamming and has delivered a prototype to DGA-MI for testing and evaluation. The purpose of this paper is to recall the requirements of such a laser source, to present the main design trade-off and the testing experiments. This work is supported by the French MoD (DGA).