Autonomous laser defense company launches domestic production of high-power laser sources

SAN FRANCISCO: Aurelius Systems, the autonomous laser defense company behind the Archimedes counter-UAS system, today announced Aurelius Manufacturing, a new division that will build high-power fiber laser source modules in the United States.

The U.S. defense laser supply chain has a gap. Demand for high-power fiber lasers is growing across military and industrial applications. A small number of established domestic manufacturers produce laser sources, but the market is shifting. Chinese laser companies have taken majority share in Asia Pacific, a region that accounts for nearly half the global fiber laser market, and are expanding into the U.S. through new automation products and service networks. For defense programs that need ITAR-compliant components from a supplier they can trace end to end, the pool of qualified domestic options is small and getting smaller relative to demand.

Aurelius set out to build Archimedes, its autonomous counter-UAS system, to give American forces scalable defense against drone threats. In doing so, the team found that domestic production of high-power fiber lasers has been shrinking for over a decade, with most remaining suppliers no longer American-owned. Aurelius Manufacturing is the company's response: a U.S. production line for the same fiber laser source modules and components that sit at the heart of any directed-energy system, and that American manufacturers have had to import for years.

The launch comes as the Pentagon pushes to field laser weapons at scale within 36 months, backed by $250 million in directed energy R&D funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill. The Department of Defense's fiscal year 2027 budget requested more than quadruples that figure, proposing over $2 billion in directed energy RDT&E. The Army's Enduring High Energy Laser program is moving toward its first production contract, with plans to acquire up to 24 systems. Navy leadership has called for lasers on every ship in the surface fleet. As these programs move from prototyping into production, the number of domestic suppliers building defense-grade laser sources has not kept pace. Lead times from qualified vendors are long, and the industrial base needs more capacity.

Aurelius Manufacturing's first product is a compact, rack-integrated fiber laser source module rated at multi-kilowatt output. Units will be available from prototype quantities through full-rate production, with configurations tailored to directed-energy and industrial manufacturing applications.

Aurelius's laser sources are designed to be ITAR-compliant with full domestic traceability and no dependency on foreign allocation schedules. For industrial customers running laser welding, metal cutting, surface treatment, or additive manufacturing lines, domestic production will mean shorter lead times and direct access to the engineers building the hardware.

"It's clear the domestic production of high-power lasers in the US is significantly lower than necessary to support both our directed energy and defense needs. Laser system production has been continually offshored outside of our lands. In order to support our customers, the directed energy industry at large and the growing material processing industry in the US, we'll be vertically integrating and producing lasers here in the homeland," said Michael Laframboise, CEO of Aurelius Systems.

Production capacity reservations for Q1 2027 are open. Customers can reach Aurelius at aureliusmanufacturing.com.

About Aurelius Systems

Aurelius Systems is a San Francisco-based defense technology company building autonomous laser systems. Its first product, Archimedes, is a counter-drone system designed to defeat Group 1 and 2 UAS threats. Through Aurelius Manufacturing, the company is building domestic production of high-power fiber laser sources for defense and industrial customers. All products are designed and built in the United States. For more information, visit aureliussystems.com.

Fonte: Business Wire