Company: LASR
Filing Date: 2025-04-25
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001124796-25-000043
Chunk: 2

Company: NLIGHT, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-04-25
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 2
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 of important milestones for nLIGHT. Revenue from aerospace & defense grew to more than 60% of our total sales in the fourth quarter, and this market has become our primary growth driver. To support our transition to a more aerospace & defense-oriented business, we completed the final steps in a multi-year process of de-risking important parts of our manufacturing process including ramping manufacturing at our automated facility in the United States and qualifying a third-party contract manufacturer in Thailand to support our commercial business. As a US-based pure-play high-power laser provider, we believe we are uniquely positioned to address the U.S. Department of Defense’s most critical priorities.

#### Defense Takes Center Stage
Interest in our directed energy lasers continues to grow as ongoing military operations in the Middle East and Ukraine highlight the increasing need for advanced, cost-effective defensive weapons technology. Directed energy lasers offer a deep magazine, low cost per engagement, and speed-of-light delivery to counter a wide range of threats – including drones, rockets, artillery, mortars and missiles.

nLIGHT has been a leader in the development of high-power lasers for directed energy for over two decades, incorporating patented and proprietary technologies across our entire technology stack from semiconductor laser diodes to high-power fiber amplifiers, beam-combined lasers, and beam directors and have established ourselves as the most comprehensive supplier to the U.S. government, other prime contractors and foreign allies.

In 2024 we continued to execute on several of our key Directed Energy programs. We began delivering key components for the High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative (“HELSI”) - a U.S. Department of Defense $171 million program to develop a 1-megawatt high-energy laser with a completion date expected in 2026. We finalized designs and delivered key components for a $34 million dollar contract to deliver a 50-kilowatt high-energy laser to the U.S. Army’s Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense program. The success we have achieved to date in these key programs reinforces the capability of our technology and our commitment to this market. Outside of the United States, interest in directed energy lasers also continues to increase. As an example, in October, Israel announced that it would spend over $500 million dollars toward Iron Beam, an Israeli ground-based laser system for defense against aerial threats including rockets, mortars, drones, and missiles.

We also continued to gain momentum in our Laser Sensing markets in 2024. Our laser sensing products include missile guidance, proximity detection, range finding and countermeasures,