David Stoudt provides Booz Allen and its clients with leadership and guidance on the science and business of advancing directed energy capabilities for American warfighters.
He previously spent 32 years serving in the Department of Navy, 12 of them as the Navy’s first distinguished engineer for directed energy, an executive position. The results-driven technical leadership that he provided led to the establishment and staffing of world-class directed energy programs and facilities at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia (NSWCDD).
From 2008 through 2012, David was also the first Naval Sea Systems Command technical authority warrant for directed energy and electric weapon systems, including high-energy lasers (HEL), the electromagnetic rail gun, and high-power microwave (HPM) weapon systems.
At NSWCDD, he established and technically directed a number of HPM and HEL technology programs, including airborne electronic attack, counter-improvised explosive devices, and the beginning of the Navy’s laser weapon system, currently deployed on the U.S.S. Ponce.
David established several prototype weapon development initiatives aimed at mitigating the impact of IEDs during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The resulting prototypes represented the first ever successful tactical employment of directed energy weapons.
As the senior director for capabilities and concepts in the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of the Navy for Policy from 2011 to 2015, David initiated and served as the executive secretary for the directed energy steering group, which was chartered by the undersecretary of the Navy to develop the Department of Navy vision, strategy, and roadmap for directed energy weapons.
He also established and served as the executive secretary for both the Navy non-acoustic anti-submarine warfare steering group and the naval space board, chartered by the undersecretary of the Navy and the secretary of the Navy, respectively.
Among other honors, David has received multiple Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, the Navy Distinguished and Superior Civilian Service Awards, and the Naval Sea Systems Command Scientist of the Year Award.
In March 2018, David was elected president of the Board of Directors for the Directed Energy Professional Society. He holds a B.S., an M.S., and a Ph.D. from Old Dominion University, all in electrical engineering.
