Tactical High Energy Laser

[Zhukov]

US Army's Tactical High Energy Laser Shoots Down Mortar Rounds

The Tactical High Energy Laser, built by Northrop Grumman for the US Army, shot down multiple mortar rounds Aug. 24, proving that laser weapons could be applied on the battlefield to protect against common threats.

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/laser-04r.html

 

[Annie]

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/laser-04r.html

I forgot where, but somewhere today I read that every war has high front end casualty rates, as the generals fight the last war. As the field becomes more clear, they employ the tactics and technology necessary to protect the troops, this seems to fit the bill.

 

[Zhukov]

It's also a good defense against low-tech tactical WMD's delivered by the type of 3rd world countries we are likely to become militarily involved with during the WoT. Low-tech tactical WMD's which would be delivered by mortar rounds, like the sarin found in Iraq.

Destruction of incoming mortar rounds with chemical or biological agents would still spread their lethal contents, but not as effectively.

Also, WMD mortar shells that require the contents to be mixed before they are lethal would perhaps be rendered useless.

 

[Merlin1047]

Looking a bit further down the road, if this technology can be developed further, it will render missiles essentially obsolete. Coupled with a gyroscopically stabilized platform the laser could be deployed on ship. Depending on weight and size it might even be deployable on aircraft or as an orbiting satellite.

Thank you Ronald Reagan.

Kiss off, Jacques Francois Kerrie.

 

[nakedemperor]

Wow. Lasers. That's so cool!!

:2guns:

Is this gonna turn out to be revealed to early like those missles that shot does missles, but then turned out to be missles that could shoot down missles that had tracking devices on board? The army was kind of annoying with that one.

I hope not. Lasers are fucking raw.

 

[Annie]

Wow. Lasers. That's so cool!!

:2guns:

Is this gonna turn out to be revealed to early like those missles that shot does missles, but then turned out to be missles that could shoot down missles that had tracking devices on board? The army was kind of annoying with that one.

I hope not. Lasers are fucking raw.

I'm guessing you were striving for sarcasm here, but could you turn it to English so the rest of us could deal with it?

 

[KarlMarx]

Looking a bit further down the road, if this technology can be developed further, it will render missiles essentially obsolete. Coupled with a gyroscopically stabilized platform the laser could be deployed on ship. Depending on weight and size it might even be deployable on aircraft or as an orbiting satellite.

Thank you Ronald Reagan.

Kiss off, Jacques Francois Kerrie.

It seems that we are going in that direction, doesn't it? Eventually, perhaps, this could be used as an antitank weapon, or even as a replacement for the bullets used by foot soldiers (set your phasors on stun!). Of course one of the main problems would be to store all that energy in a small device that does not weigh much.

 

[waltky]

New weapons comin' down the road to fight jihadis...

Laser Weapons Edge Closer to Battlefield Use
29 May 2017 - The toy-like drones destroyed during an Army field exercise at Fort Sill, Okla., last month weren't anything special; however, the way they were brought down -- zapped out of the sky by lasers mounted on a Stryker armored vehicle -- might grab people's attention.

The first soldier to try out the lasers was Spc. Brandon Sallaway, a forward observer with the 4th Infantry Division. He used a Mobile Expeditionary High Energy Laser to shoot down an 18-by-10-inch drone at 650 yards, an Army statement said. "It's nothing too complicated but you have to learn how to operate each system and get used to the controls which is exactly like a video game controller," said Sallaway, who hadn't fired a laser before the exercise. The drone-killing laser was relatively low energy -- only 5 kilowatts -- but the Army has tested much more powerful weapons. A 30-kilowatt truck-mounted High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator shot down dozens of mortar rounds and several drones in November 2013 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

Since then, researchers have made rapid advances in laser weapons, said Bob Ruszkowski, who works on air dominance projects and unmanned systems in Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works facility. "We're really on the cusp of seeing the introduction of lasers in future systems," he said. The weapon tested at White Sands is about to double in power with a 60-kilowatt laser the Army plans to test in the next 18 months, he said in a phone interview May 12. The laser generates its beam through fiber optic cables like those used by telecom companies, said Robert Afzal, a senior fellow for laser and sensor systems at Lockheed. "We demonstrated that we could combine large number of these fiber lasers and link them to a weapons system," he said.

Lockheed Martin's 30-kilowatt Accelerated Laser Demonstration Initiative, known as ALADIN.​

Lasers are very efficient at converting electrical power to a laser beam, Afzal said. That's important for the platforms that carry them, he said. It means they don't need a large generator or cooling system and that high-powered lasers can be easily transported. "This was the key puzzle piece that needed to be solved before we could begin to deploy these laser weapons," Afzal said. "The technology is getting real. It's the dawn of a new era where the tech can be made smaller and powerful enough to be put on vehicles, ships and aircraft." Scientists showed the potential of more powerful laser weapons in 2015 by burning a hole through a truck's hood at a range of one mile. "It was the most efficient high-powered laser ever demonstrated," Afazal said of the test, which mimicked what might happen if a laser was fired at a vehicle from an aircraft.

During an operation, a laser might be used to disable a vehicle where the goal was to capture rather than kill an individual, Ruszkowski said. "The laser is a surgical weapon and it's something customers are interested in," Afazal said. "Something like that can be easily integrated into an AC-130 gunship. That is something the Air Force is planning on demonstrating in the next two to three years." Researchers believe they have the key ingredients to make such a system work, Ruszkowski said. "When we realized that laser technology was maturing enough that we could be close to having something we could integrate on an aircraft we started looking at other difficulties that might arise," he said. Airflow around a plane can destabilize lasers, so engineers developed a way to minimize turbulence, said Ruszkowski, who added that the Navy has deployed a laser weapon on board the USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf.

Laser weapons could be arriving just in time to defeat a growing menagerie of cheap-to-make drones and missiles in the hands of terrorists and rogue states, which could threaten expensive American military hardware. "The threats are proliferating and changing," but laser weapons could counter some of them, Afazal said. An advantage of laser weapons is that they don't need ammunition, he said. For example, a forward-operating base could protect itself from airborne threats with a laser as long as there was enough fuel to power a generator and recharge its batteries. Use of such weapons on enemy troops is a gray area that, for now, the U.S. military is steering clear of since international agreements ban the use of weapons intended to blind, Afazal said. "Before lasers have been deployed and we understand how they work, the policy is conservative," he said.

Laser Weapons Edge Closer to Battlefield Use | Military.com

See also:

Next-Gen Fighter, Nuclear Cruise Missile Eyed for Funding Boost
May 24, 2017 - The Air Force wants to boost funding for next-gen technologies such as a sixth-generation fighter and a nuclear cruise missile.

The Air Force wants to boost funding for next-generation technologies such as a potential sixth-generation fighter and a nuclear cruise missile. The service’s fiscal 2018 budget request released Tuesday includes $25.4 billion for research, development, test and evaluation programs — an increase of $5 billion, or 26 percent, from the amount enacted for the current year, according to budget documents. While some of the funding would go toward top acquisition programs such as the KC-46A Pegasus tanker, F-35A Lightning II and B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber, some would also support advanced technology initiatives.

For example, the “Next Gen Air Dominance” program aims to secure $295 million for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, up from just $21 million under the current year. “RDT&E funding allows us to do is to take an idea to — to leap an idea to technology we’ll use every day,” Maj. Gen. James Martin, the Air Force’s deputy assistant secretary for budget, said during a budget briefing at the Pentagon. “The capability gap is closing and we must continue to invest in game-changing technology such as hypersonics, directed energy, unmanned autonomous systems, and nanotechnology.” Next Gen Air Dominance, also known as Penetrating Counter Air, received a hike in line with the service’s Air Superiority 2030 roadmap study completed last May, an Air Force spokeswoman told Military.com Tuesday.

Northrop Grumman in recent years has given a sneak peek into its 6th generation fighter jet concept.​

The study is designed to identify shortcomings in the existing fighter fleet that could be addressed with advanced fighter aircraft, sensors and weapons in a growing and unpredictable threat environment. “We have to be ready for not only what we need today but we better be ready for the potential threats … 10, 20 years from now,” Martin said. Another area that saw a proposed increase in R&D spending was the Long Range Stand-Off Weapon, a nuclear-capable cruise missile to be launched from aircraft such as the B-52 Stratofortress. The proposal calls for boosting money for the program from $96 million to $451 million, according to the documents.

The LRSO program would replace the AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise Missile. Democratic lawmakers and nonproliferation advocates have criticized the effort in recent months, saying it would not deter, but rather escalate, tensions with foreign nations. The missile, designed to be retrofitted to carry a nuclear-capable warhead or a conventional one, could be mistaken as a nuclear-only option, critics have said. Lastly, as expected, the B-21 LRS-B — the Air Force’s classified, next-gen stealth bomber — also saw a proposed increase from $1.3 billion to $2 billion as the program ramps up in planning, testing and evaluation and development efforts.

Next-Gen Fighter, Nuclear Cruise Missile Eyed for Funding Boost

 

[IsaacNewton]

New weapons comin' down the road to fight jihadis...

Laser Weapons Edge Closer to Battlefield Use
29 May 2017 - The toy-like drones destroyed during an Army field exercise at Fort Sill, Okla., last month weren't anything special; however, the way they were brought down -- zapped out of the sky by lasers mounted on a Stryker armored vehicle -- might grab people's attention.

The first soldier to try out the lasers was Spc. Brandon Sallaway, a forward observer with the 4th Infantry Division. He used a Mobile Expeditionary High Energy Laser to shoot down an 18-by-10-inch drone at 650 yards, an Army statement said. "It's nothing too complicated but you have to learn how to operate each system and get used to the controls which is exactly like a video game controller," said Sallaway, who hadn't fired a laser before the exercise. The drone-killing laser was relatively low energy -- only 5 kilowatts -- but the Army has tested much more powerful weapons. A 30-kilowatt truck-mounted High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator shot down dozens of mortar rounds and several drones in November 2013 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

Since then, researchers have made rapid advances in laser weapons, said Bob Ruszkowski, who works on air dominance projects and unmanned systems in Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works facility. "We're really on the cusp of seeing the introduction of lasers in future systems," he said. The weapon tested at White Sands is about to double in power with a 60-kilowatt laser the Army plans to test in the next 18 months, he said in a phone interview May 12. The laser generates its beam through fiber optic cables like those used by telecom companies, said Robert Afzal, a senior fellow for laser and sensor systems at Lockheed. "We demonstrated that we could combine large number of these fiber lasers and link them to a weapons system," he said.

Lockheed Martin's 30-kilowatt Accelerated Laser Demonstration Initiative, known as ALADIN.​

Lasers are very efficient at converting electrical power to a laser beam, Afzal said. That's important for the platforms that carry them, he said. It means they don't need a large generator or cooling system and that high-powered lasers can be easily transported. "This was the key puzzle piece that needed to be solved before we could begin to deploy these laser weapons," Afzal said. "The technology is getting real. It's the dawn of a new era where the tech can be made smaller and powerful enough to be put on vehicles, ships and aircraft." Scientists showed the potential of more powerful laser weapons in 2015 by burning a hole through a truck's hood at a range of one mile. "It was the most efficient high-powered laser ever demonstrated," Afazal said of the test, which mimicked what might happen if a laser was fired at a vehicle from an aircraft.

During an operation, a laser might be used to disable a vehicle where the goal was to capture rather than kill an individual, Ruszkowski said. "The laser is a surgical weapon and it's something customers are interested in," Afazal said. "Something like that can be easily integrated into an AC-130 gunship. That is something the Air Force is planning on demonstrating in the next two to three years." Researchers believe they have the key ingredients to make such a system work, Ruszkowski said. "When we realized that laser technology was maturing enough that we could be close to having something we could integrate on an aircraft we started looking at other difficulties that might arise," he said. Airflow around a plane can destabilize lasers, so engineers developed a way to minimize turbulence, said Ruszkowski, who added that the Navy has deployed a laser weapon on board the USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf.

Laser weapons could be arriving just in time to defeat a growing menagerie of cheap-to-make drones and missiles in the hands of terrorists and rogue states, which could threaten expensive American military hardware. "The threats are proliferating and changing," but laser weapons could counter some of them, Afazal said. An advantage of laser weapons is that they don't need ammunition, he said. For example, a forward-operating base could protect itself from airborne threats with a laser as long as there was enough fuel to power a generator and recharge its batteries. Use of such weapons on enemy troops is a gray area that, for now, the U.S. military is steering clear of since international agreements ban the use of weapons intended to blind, Afazal said. "Before lasers have been deployed and we understand how they work, the policy is conservative," he said.

Laser Weapons Edge Closer to Battlefield Use | Military.com

See also:

Next-Gen Fighter, Nuclear Cruise Missile Eyed for Funding Boost
May 24, 2017 - The Air Force wants to boost funding for next-gen technologies such as a sixth-generation fighter and a nuclear cruise missile.

The Air Force wants to boost funding for next-generation technologies such as a potential sixth-generation fighter and a nuclear cruise missile. The service’s fiscal 2018 budget request released Tuesday includes $25.4 billion for research, development, test and evaluation programs — an increase of $5 billion, or 26 percent, from the amount enacted for the current year, according to budget documents. While some of the funding would go toward top acquisition programs such as the KC-46A Pegasus tanker, F-35A Lightning II and B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber, some would also support advanced technology initiatives.

For example, the “Next Gen Air Dominance” program aims to secure $295 million for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, up from just $21 million under the current year. “RDT&E funding allows us to do is to take an idea to — to leap an idea to technology we’ll use every day,” Maj. Gen. James Martin, the Air Force’s deputy assistant secretary for budget, said during a budget briefing at the Pentagon. “The capability gap is closing and we must continue to invest in game-changing technology such as hypersonics, directed energy, unmanned autonomous systems, and nanotechnology.” Next Gen Air Dominance, also known as Penetrating Counter Air, received a hike in line with the service’s Air Superiority 2030 roadmap study completed last May, an Air Force spokeswoman told Military.com Tuesday.

Northrop Grumman in recent years has given a sneak peek into its 6th generation fighter jet concept.​

The study is designed to identify shortcomings in the existing fighter fleet that could be addressed with advanced fighter aircraft, sensors and weapons in a growing and unpredictable threat environment. “We have to be ready for not only what we need today but we better be ready for the potential threats … 10, 20 years from now,” Martin said. Another area that saw a proposed increase in R&D spending was the Long Range Stand-Off Weapon, a nuclear-capable cruise missile to be launched from aircraft such as the B-52 Stratofortress. The proposal calls for boosting money for the program from $96 million to $451 million, according to the documents.

The LRSO program would replace the AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise Missile. Democratic lawmakers and nonproliferation advocates have criticized the effort in recent months, saying it would not deter, but rather escalate, tensions with foreign nations. The missile, designed to be retrofitted to carry a nuclear-capable warhead or a conventional one, could be mistaken as a nuclear-only option, critics have said. Lastly, as expected, the B-21 LRS-B — the Air Force’s classified, next-gen stealth bomber — also saw a proposed increase from $1.3 billion to $2 billion as the program ramps up in planning, testing and evaluation and development efforts.

Next-Gen Fighter, Nuclear Cruise Missile Eyed for Funding Boost

Ok so now we are actually in the realm that sharks could have laser beams attached to their heads. And Grumman only wants us to give them "one hundred billion dollars".