Sentinel Photonics launches new laser detection and intelligence systems…

27 Aug 2025

…and BAE Systems investing to accelerate chip production for U.S. defense with Chips Act funding.

Sentinel Photonics, based in Farnborough, UK, a developer of laser detection and protection technologies, has announced the launch of its Echo and Laserd® Max laser detection capabilities.

These systems, designed for military applications, are specified by Sentinel to “expose covert threats and give operators a critical edge in laser-contested environments.” Both will be shown for the first time at arms expo DSEI 2025, at Excel, London, between 9-12 September.

“Laser threats are evolving fast, creating serious multi-domain risks that traditional defenses cannot keep up with,” said Jackson White, Head of Commercial at Sentinel. “Echo reveals surveillance optics that others are trying to hide, quickly and safely. Laserd Max gives operators real-time laser intelligence they can act on to enhance their survivability.”

Echo is a rugged handheld laser detection system that exposes concealed, hostile optics, specifically magnified optics of any kind. Designed for military, law enforcement and high-security operations, the system can detect optics at distances of between 50 m and 3 km, even under harsh environmental conditions with speed and precision.

Echo uses advanced retro-reflection to uncover surveillance threats that conventional imaging systems miss, states Sentinel. It operates across the wide spectrum, allowing operators to identify concealed optics without compromising their own position, giving them the edge in surveillance, counter-surveillance, VIP protection, sniper scope detection, and border operations, whilst remaining eye-safe.

Laserd Max features what is described as “advanced Laser Intelligence (LasINT) system that gives operators real-time situational awareness of unknown laser threats. It is described as being able to deliver “persistent, autonomous laser detection up to 10 km across the visible and non-visible laser spectrum. It enables users to passively map, log, and analyze laser activity in real time, even in complex or contested EW environments.”

Threat types include LDEWs, rangefinders, beamriders, lidar, and covert illuminators. With a compact footprint and multiple camouflage options, Laserd Max is specified for land, sea, and air platforms.

BAE Systems accelerates chip production for defense with Chips Act funding

Defense, aerospace and security company BAE Systems has announced investment to modernize its Nashua, New Hampshire-based Microelectronics Center (MEC), supported in part by the U.S. Chips Act. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

The company says it will purchase new, more efficient manufacturing tools to significantly increase production capacity, markedly speed delivery, and substantially reduce costs for Department of Defense chip production for the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines.

The company’s statement says, “modernization will unlock major efficiencies in U.S. defense production, serve our warfighters with state-of-the-art technology, and yield high returns for the American taxpayer.”

The MEC is a 10,220-square-meter (110,000-square-foot) semiconductor chip fabrication and foundry facility, accredited by the Department of Defense. It develops advanced semiconductor technologies beyond those available commercially to meet demanding military requirements and is one of the only domestic defense-centric 6 in gallium arsenide and gallium nitride High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) wafer foundries.

BAE added that “the modernization of the MEC is a vital investment in America’s national security and will support mission-critical DoD and aerospace programs — from next-generation aircraft and satellites to secure communications. The investment will also create skilled manufacturing jobs reinforcing an ongoing commitment to investing in American workers.”