ACS, a precision robotics company for defense, today announced it has established a Directed Energy division, expanding its multi-product portfolio with the development of new high-energy laser capabilities for U.S. and allied governments. The company announced the appointment of Amanda Clark as Vice President, Directed Energy and John Mason as Program Director, High Energy Laser to lead the division. Clark and Mason join the company from U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC).

“The defense industry has invested heavily in directed energy, but generating a powerful beam is only part of the challenge. You still have to find a fast-moving threat, stay on target, and engage it with precision. ACS has already demonstrated those capabilities with our Bullfrog autonomous weapon station, and applying that expertise to directed energy is a powerful combination,” said Joe Bingold, President and CEO, ACS. “Amanda and John’s extensive hands-on expertise from the U.S. Army’s directed energy efforts, combined with our unparalleled technical talent and innovative approach, will enable us to rapidly build the layered defenses needed to protect U.S. and allied forces and critical infrastructure at scale.”

Clark joins ACS after 17 years of engineering and leadership experience at SMDC in Huntsville, Alabama, most recently serving as Chief of the Directed Energy Division. She previously served as Acting Director of the Joint Directed Energy Transition Office, Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering. Clark holds a Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering (Optics and Photonics) and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, both from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Mason joins ACS after serving as Directed Energy Technologies Branch Chief at SMDC, where he led technical development across the command’s directed energy portfolio. He previously served in several technical leadership roles in industry driving the development of high-energy laser weapons and other emerging technologies. Mason holds a PhD in Physics from Texas A&M university and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

With the threat of low-cost weaponized drones escalating rapidly around the world, the Directed Energy division reflects ACS’s continued investment in developing scalable and cost-effective capabilities so U.S. and allied governments can stay ahead of this urgent national security challenge.

About ACS

ACS is a precision robotics company for defense building autonomous weapon systems to pioneer a new era of security for America and its allies. ACS develops capabilities that combine computer vision, autonomous control, and precision robotics to defeat threats to military targets and critical infrastructure for a fraction of the cost of conventional interceptors. ACS’s flagship product, Bullfrog, is a first-of-its-kind AI-powered weapon station that turns existing weapons into highly accurate counter-drone systems. Bullfrog is deployed with U.S. forces, and ACS holds contracts with the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas, where it has a significant manufacturing base. The company also has offices in Alexandria, Va. and an innovation lab in Huntsville, Ala. For more information, please visit https://www.allencontrolsystems.com.

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