The goal, officials said, is operational fielding of laser systems by 2022. “This is moving extremely fast,” said Army Col. G. Scott McLeod, program manager for the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office’s (RCCTO) Directed Energy-Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense initiative. “Everybody has done a great job of managing all of the technical complexity and challenges of getting these new components built and integrated so we can move to the shoot-off next year,” he said. Army officials said the work by Raytheon and Northrop Grumman is being done in separate areas at an integration facility in Huntsville, Alabama. Keeping the two efforts separate ensured the integrity of the competition, the Pentagon said.