“What if free people could live secure in the knowledge that their security did not rest upon the threat of instant U.S. retaliation to deter a Soviet attack, that we could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil or that of our allies?”

-Ronald Reagan, Strategic Defense Initiative Address to the Nation, 1983

In 2018, the U.S. Department of defense recognized space as a warfighting domain, declaring the final frontier a contested arena where power, security, and prosperity will be determined. Adversaries are rapidly deploying hostile space-based assets and exoatmospheric hypersonic threats, posing a direct challenge to U.S. space superiority and threatening national defense.

The Golden Dome for America initiative further marked a decisive doctrinal shift: to ensure space superiority and counter hypersonic threats traveling through space, the United States must deploy on-orbit systems capable of active defense.

Victoria Defense is committed to developing the next-generation of space-based high-energy laser interceptors. With our unique, low-SWaP architecture, we stand ready to help the United States secure the ultimate high ground. The time to act is now - victory in the ultimate strategic high ground must be ensured.

A NEw domain of adversarial engagement

High-Energy Laser (HEL) systems are not simply a form of orbital defense, they are the ultimate apparatus of power in space. By developing radically disruptive, enabling technologies, Victoria Defense is developing HELLION, a low-SWaP HEL payload, capable of being fielded in a constellation, forming a dispositif of orbital power projection:

PROJECTING POWER INTO THE FINAL FRONTIER

INSTANTANEOUS

Adversarial satellites and exo-atmospheric hypersonic weapons, such as HGVs and ICBMs, move at extreme velocities. Because lasers operate at the speed of light, effective time-to-target becomes nearly instantaneous once the target is acquired. This eliminates the need to predict intercept points or lead the target. This results in instantaneous engagement speed across all mission use cases.

INEXHAUSTIBLE

HELLION’s ammunition is power itself. As such, its system’s magazine is effectively unlimited. Once in orbit, it is a self-sustaining system, continuously drawing power from solar generation. With no reloading, resupply, or maintenance cycles, a HELLION constellation forms a defense architecture of indefinite endurance and persistent deterrence. It is a force designed to outlast any conflict and operate with eternal vigilance.

INDOMITABLE

Free from atmospheric optical distortions, HELLION’s laser beam suffers no power attenuation, turbulence, or similar degradations. Once fired, the beam is capable of precisely and predictably delivering full power on target across hundreds of kilometers with excellent coherence. In the boundless domain of space, HELLION is an instrument of absolute reach and unwavering capability.

At its core, HELLION is a Space-Based Interceptor. It is designed for the most stringent requirements of orbital engagement, where precision, response time, and quick target neutralization are paramount. However, HELLION can be utilized in other use-cases - these are categorized as primary, such as interception of adversarial assets, or secondary, such as power beaming to power-starved orbits, or debris removal.

VECTORS OF VICTORY

When seconds count, count on the speed of light

INTERCEPTION

Current U.S. missile defense doctrine emphasizes intercepting ICBMs in their boost phase and Hypersonic Glide Vehicles in their midcourse or glide phase. These requirements impose extremely short engagement windows, which few solutions can meet. Kinetic interception under these conditions is so difficult, that it is often described as “hitting a bullet with a bullet” due to relatively similar velocities between interceptor and target. Additionally, kinetic interceptors must predict a target’s future position and lead the intercept. This becomes problematic for threats such as hypersonic glide vehicles, whose unpredictable trajectories are designed to defeat kinetic kill vehicles, making interception less probable.

In contrast, by effectively transforming the interception into “hitting a stationary bullet with a bullet,” HELLION can meet nearly any engagement window requirement. It benefits from persistent line-of-sight coverage and delivers target neutralization with virtually zero time-to-target. Upon acquiring, tracking and pointing its beam director on a hypersonic target, which is already experiencing extreme aerothermal and structural loads, the beam is precisely focused to deliver maximum irradiance, resulting in rapid target destruction. The ability to propagate such destructive energy over long distances is possible due to disruptive, enabling technologies that allow maximum efficacy while remaining low-SWaP and eliminating dependence on outdated, supply-chain-bound solutions.

The adoption of these enabling technologies also allow HELLION to be fielded on-orbit faster, cheaper, and more efficiently. This makes possible the deployment of large constellations, resulting in a persistent hypersonic defense system of global coverage. When further considering its dual-use capabilities, HELLION reigns supreme in operational flexibility and cost efficiency.

Although solar energy is abundant in space, power starvation remains a critical challenge. In VLEO, satellites are constrained by drag, preventing the use of large solar arrays. Meanwhile, aging spacecraft in higher orbits suffer from degraded photovoltaic systems, reducing their ability to generate sufficient power from sunlight and leaving both regimes in need of reliable orbital power transfer solutions.

VLEO is rapidly emerging as one of the most strategically valuable orbital regimes for defense and intelligence missions. Operating at altitudes between 150 km and 450 km, it offers unique advantages, such as ultra-low latency communications, high-resolution sensing, reduced debris persistence, and enhanced resilience against counter-space threats. However, the residual atmosphere in this orbital regime creates significant drag, requiring continuous, high-power propulsion while simultaneously limiting the deployment of large solar arrays required for sufficient power generation. The energy delivery mechanism developed for interception, particularly the ability to acquire, track and engage fast-moving targets, can be adapted to this mission, enabling efficient orbital power transfer and sustain VLEO operations.

Additionally, many aging spacecraft struggle to generate sufficient power as their solar arrays degrade over time, a result of repeated thermal cycling, material fatigue, and prolonged radiation exposure. By supplementing on-board power with laser-based energy transfer, these satellites can greatly extend their operational lifetime.

POWER, WHERE MOST NEEDED

POWER BEAMING

Space debris is becoming an increasingly critical challenge. As the number of spacecraft in orbit grows, so too does the accumulation of debris. Debris fragments, ranging in size from micrometers to centimeters, pose significant risks to active satellites. In order to preserve long-term safety and sustainability of the orbital environment, active debris removal has become essential. The HELLION system offers a scalable solution to this growing challenge by enabling non-contact debris mitigation using a HEL approach. By focusing a laser beam onto selected debris targets, HELLION can deorbit debris through two mechanisms. For centimeter-scale debris, laser ablation acts by irradiating fragments with sufficient intensity to vaporize a thin surface layer, producing a plasma jet that generates reactive thrust. Photon momentum transfer, meanwhile, exerts a continuous radiative pressure on ultra-small particles, gradually decelerating them until atmospheric re-entry occurs. As the new space era reaches its peak, orbital decluttering is no longer optional. It is an operational necessity.

ORBITAL DECLUTTERING THROUGH LIGHT

DEBRIS REMOVAL

Contact us!

For opportunities, potential partnerships, or general questions, email us!

info@vicdef.com

REDEFINING SPACE SUPERIORITY

Named after the Latin word for Victory, Victoria Defense develops mission-driven technologies to safeguard national interests in the space domain. With our dominant space-based HIGH-ENERGY LASER weapon technology, we redefine security beyond Earth and ensure victory in the final frontier.