Attalon Awarded $17.1 Million Navy Deal to Advance Directed-Energy Lasers

The Office of Naval Research awarded the Murrieta, California, defense firm a modification to build pulsed fiber lasers and push toward a 400-kilowatt directed-energy subsystem, with work due by January 2028.

First Published: July 27, 2026, 1:20 PM ET

MURRIETA, CALIFORNIA — Attalon Inc., a defense technology firm launched in January 2026 with more than 500 U.S. employees, received a $17.1 million Navy contract modification to develop high-power laser weapons, as announced on war.gov.

The award funds the SONGBOW effort for pulsed fiber lasers and directed-energy subsystems with high-bandwidth wavefront control. The modification advances a 400-kilowatt directed-energy subsystem by integrating a 50-kilowatt laser with a beam-control assembly. Fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation Navy funds of $17.1 million covered the award, none of which expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

“Attalon is not just a component supplier; we are the core of optical and directed energy systems that will define modern defense,” said John Bergeron, president and chief executive officer, in a launch statement according to atln.com.

Directed-energy weapons use concentrated light to disable drones, missiles and small boats at the speed of light and at a low cost per shot. Each engagement draws electrical power rather than expensive interceptors, a shift military planners view as central to countering swarms of cheap threats. The Murrieta contractor emerged from the aerospace and defense business of Coherent Corp. after its acquisition by Advent International, according to atln.com.

The company specializes in the physics of light and heat, engineering optical, laser and coating technologies for air, space and ground missions according to michiganscreativecoast.com. Bergeron, a 35-year veteran of the sector, joined from leadership roles at CACI, Raytheon and GE according to atln.com.

The deal marks the first Department of Defense contract recorded for Attalon in 2026 and ranks as the 92nd defense contract awarded in California this year, according to barchart.com. It stands as one of eight Pentagon awards announced nationwide on July 27, 2026. The sum sits far below the 2026 Navy portfolio’s year-to-date maximum of $8 billion and above its minimum of about $9 million.

For the average reader, the technology aims to lower the cost of defending ships, bases and cities. A single laser shot can cost a few dollars in electricity, compared with missile interceptors that run into the millions, which could ease long-term pressure on defense budgets funded by taxpayers.

The United States has pursued laser weapons before. The Navy deployed the Laser Weapon System aboard the USS Ponce in 2014, then fielded the 60-kilowatt HELIOS system on a destroyer. The 400-kilowatt target under SONGBOW would mark a substantial leap in power over those earlier systems.

The Office of Naval Research in Arlington, Virginia, serves as the contracting activity and will oversee the next phase. Work should conclude in January 2028. A specific date for further contract decisions has not been announced.

Directed-energy research has tested the patience of the Pentagon as often as it has tested physics. The Airborne Laser program mounted a chemical laser on a modified Boeing 747 and shot down a test missile in February 2010. The Pentagon canceled the roughly $5 billion project in 2011 after concluding the aircraft would need to fly too close to enemy launch sites. Solid-state fiber lasers, like those Attalon is building, revived the field by trading volatile chemicals for electrical power, giving contractors a durable path back into a mission that once left their predecessors grounded.

This contract represents the 1st contract awarded to Attalon Inc., in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $17,100,450. It is also the 92nd Department of Defense contract awarded in California during 2026. Because this is the first award to Attalon Inc. recorded in the database, it establishes the company’s initial benchmark within the Navy portfolio. Specifically, it falls between the 2026 Navy portfolio’s year-to-date minimum of $9,046,496 and maximum of $8,000,000,000. Overall, this award was announced among 8 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on July 27, 2026.