USS Portland tests laser weapon system to destroy aircraft mid-air
A US Navy warship, USS Portland, has successfully tested a new high-energy laser weapon system that could destroy an aircraft mid-air.
www.naval-technology.com
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USS Portland tests laser weapon system to destroy aircraft mid-air
- Thread starter Forerunner
- Start date
www.naval-technology.com
I wonder what the effective range is currently. In addition to the "shooting down drones" schtick it would presumably also be very useful as a CIWS for intercepting incoming guided munitions.
I wonder how much this stuff is going to cost tax payers. As if our military isnt powerful enough as is.
Lasers have an energy source and a "gain medium". Solid state means the gain medium is neither liquid nor gas.
I like seeing stuff blow up as much as the next guy but this seems like a pointless waist of money.
Just cancel one foreign invasion in the next decade and you'll be able to afford to develop 100 things like this with the money you save.
And the gain medium is whats in between the mirrors where the beam bounces back and forth and intensifies itself?
I think the military's budget is overinflated as much as the next guy here, but I think its plain to see how useful a laser point defense system would be in defending naval ships, especially when we know other countries are developing ship-killers.
I mean there are other applications for lasers that will greatly benefit from the continued military advancement. Medicine, particle physics, communication, and space flight to name a few.
That said the obvious flaw is a mirrored target basically negates a laser. Not even negates but could deflect it back to the source. I imagine counter measured where mirrored surfaces, even very small ones could be affixed to vehicles with computers and robotic apenditures moving the mirror automatically into the beam and perfectly reflect it back to the source.
A friend with a PhD in laser physics pointed out that a retro-reflector on the target would be able to take out the ship by blinding the crew. I wonder how they're planning on counteracting that.
You don't even need to do that. Completely passive devices that reflect light back to the source already exist.
Not sure about input but the output is 30kW.
WHOAAAA
Especially if its an array of microlenses that can really drive it in a specific direction.
Thats some wild shit to think about, especially collateral damage wise.
Yes I think if you want to talk about slashing budgets in the military you really need to think about cutting down on deployments, avoiding unnecessary wars, or reducing the size of the military in some areas. Cancelling R&D is probably the last place you should be making major cuts, although in reality it's where the cuts are usually felt first because it offends the least stakeholders. Technology takes years to develop, design and test, so you ideally want to have capabilities before you need them, not after.
You're far more likely to see countermeasures in the form of obscurants (smoke, mist etc). Even if a mirror is partially or totally effective at defending against a laser, they have major drawbacks like dramatically increasing visibility. Mirrors will not necessarily reflect (or totally reflect) the wavelengths of light used in these operations, and even if you do design mirrors around the wavelengths of light enemy laser systems are using, small imperfections, scratches and dust, dirt or whatever will render it ineffective.
Imagine trying to keep a tank dust and dirt free!
Not really, no. Literally any amount of dust or smudging will negate a mirror's reflective properties.
On top of that reflective surfaces tend to be highly reflective to radar as well, you start putting mirrors on your planes and missiles and it'll look like a giant flying Christmas tree to conventional air defence, which would be somewhat of a step backwards from decades of trying to be stealthy.
It's not like the military can't kill people from a distance now. If anything, this probably has a shorter range than a lot of larger ship weapons, and is a bit more focused.
So if solid state laser does not require a gas or liquid as a gain medium what does it use? Crystals? Specially engineered glass?
That's why the later part of my guess is the more likely scenario. Small mirrors which can be stored beneath the surface or tucked which only need to be placed in path of the beam, controlled by computers and robotic arms.
birds beware
Don't worry, they have several seconds to casually get out of the way, or drive overconfidently towards you.
They've had these for years on land based vehicles, look up MEHEL. The problem with HEL is that if you miss you can't just call it back. Effects also take time. Things don't just instantly blow up, they are better suited for blinding targets. The criteria to ensure there won't be friendly fire if you miss is a huge hurdle to actual application. Tracking drones and Hypersonics is difficult enough as it is, so knowing where to point a pin point laser is also an issue. By the time someone has made a decision to charge and fire it's too late, also useless against multiple targets, which is like every situation.
It's a cool showcase to flex the muscles but currently no more practical than throwing a rock at a drone or a missile. Check back in another 20 years.
It's a cool showcase to flex the muscles but currently no more practical than throwing a rock at a drone or a missile. Check back in another 20 years.
Random fact. The sweepstakes scam was based on a true story.
Popcorn, when?
These could potentially counter those hypersonic antiship missiles the Russians and Chinese are fielding.