Why The U.S. Navy Loves Lasers

Why The Navy Wants To Fall In Love With Laser Weapons -- Popular Mechanics

Beam weapons promise to counter potential enemies' newest tools—like drones and missiles—and do it on the cheap. But are these weapons ready for prime time?

As most of the Pentagon development programs wring their hands with budget worries, there is one area of research that is celebrating a banner week/month—Navy lasers. "I think directed-energy weapons will change the dynamic of warfare at sea," Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, chief of naval research, told a crowd at the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space Conference and Exposition this week.

It made international news this week when the Navy's Chief of Operations, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, announced the 2014 deployment of a warship to the Persian Gulf—one equipped with a new laser weapon that can burn unmanned aerial vehicles out of the sky. The Pentagon even released a video from a test showing that very act.

Read more ....

My Comment: Rockets cost an enormous amount of money to make .... lasers are a different story .... or at least that is what the US Navy is hoping for.

U.S. Navy To Deploy Laser Weapons Off The Coast Of Iran

Navy Deploying Laser Weapon Prototype Near Iran -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Navy is going to sea for the first time with a laser attack weapon that has been shown in tests to disable patrol boats and blind or destroy surveillance drones.

A prototype shipboard laser will be deployed on a converted amphibious transport and docking ship in the Persian Gulf, where Iranian fast-attack boats have harassed American warships and where the government in Tehran is building remotely piloted aircraft carrying surveillance pods and, someday potentially, rockets.

The laser will not be operational until next year, but the announcement on Monday by Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, the chief of naval operations, seemed meant as a warning to Iran not to step up activity in the gulf in the next few months if tensions increase because of sanctions and the impasse in negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program. The Navy released video and still images of the laser weapon burning through a drone during a test firing.

Read more ....

More News On The U.S. Navy's Laser Program

U.S. Navy to field first laser weapon, could shoot down a drone -- Reuters
Navy to send laser weapon to Persian Gulf -- UPI
Watch Navy’s New Laser Cannon, Mounted on a Ship, Kill a Drone -- Danger Room
The future is now: Navy to deploys lasers on ships in 2014 -- FOX News
Navy unveils powerful ship-mounted laser weapon -- NBC
Navy's New Laser Weapon Blasts Bad Guys From Air, Sea -- ABC News
Navy to deploy laser to destroy drones, small boats -- CNN
U.S. Will Deploy Solid-State Laser Weapon On Ship Headed To Persian Gulf -- NPR
United States Navy to send prototype laser-gun on USS Ponce warship to Persian Gulf -- The Australian
If it's good enough for Buck Rogers: U.S Navy will deploy laser weapons on boats by 2014 as video shows it destroying drone in seconds -- Daily Mail
Navy Will Send Prototype Laser Weapon To Persian Gulf: Adm. Greenert (VIDEO) -- Aol Defense
US to deploy new laser weapon to Persian Gulf -- RT
U.S. Navy sees shipboard laser weapon coming soon -- CNet News
Laser technology on board amphibious transport dock Ponce -- Examiner
Shipboard lasers pass early tests, but work remains -- Navy Times

Darpa Wants To Put Lasers On Fighter Jets

DARPA Putting Laser Turrets On Fighter Jets Next Year -- DVice

Our first foray into laser-equipped combat aircraft was the Airborne Laser Testbed, a Boeing 747 with a gigantic chemically-pumped megawatt laser turret in its nose. It was pretty awesome from a conceptual standpoint, but it didn't work very well, and was scrapped last year. This doesn't mean that the idea of high-powered lasers on aircraft doesn't make a lot of sense, and DARPA is still for ways to make it work. It's working on two at the moment: the High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System (HELLADS), and Aero-Adaptive/Aero-Optic Beam Control (ABC).

Read more ....

More News On DARPA Wanting To Put Laser Weapons On Fighter Jets

US Military Will Install Laser Turrets on Bombers and Fighter Jets -- Gizmodo
U.S. fighter jets to use Star Wars-style onboard laser weapons by 2014 -- Science Recorder
DARPA plans to put laser turrets on fighter jets in 2014 -- Slash Gear
Pentagon wants laser weapons on fighter jets -- TG Daily
The Pentagon Plans To Test More Airborne Laser Weapons As Soon As Next Year -- Popular Science
Lasers on planes to be tested by US military -- Global Post

Asia’s Coming “Sci-Fi” Arms Race

Image credit: Wikicommons

Lasers: Asia’s Coming “Sci-Fi” Arms Race -- J. Michael Cole, The Diplomat

True to Newton’s Third Law on Motion, weapons development is a constant battle of adaptation with one side unveiling new technology only for the other to respond with countermeasures. Very few platforms in recent years have been as influential or attracted as much publicity as have unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), which have greatly enhanced surveillance capability while giving their owners the ability to target enemies thousands of miles away at relatively little cost.

Read more ....

My Comment: I guess the Americans are not the only ones who are trying to develop laser based weapon systems.

Germany Unveils It's Own 'Star Wars' Laser

The system is currently mounted of a series of large metal containers. However, the firm is developing a smaller, portable version that could easily be transported to the battlefront. 

Germans Unveil 'Star Wars' Laser That Can Shoot A Drone Out Of The Sky From TWO MILES Away And Cut Through A Steel Girder At 700 Yards -- Daily Mail 

* High powered laser is powerful enough to cut through a steel girder from 1km away
* System is so accurate it could track and destroy an 82mm ball bearing designed to replicate a mortar round
* German firm hopes to create a portable version that could be used on the battlefield

One of the most powerful laser weapons ever fired has successfully shot drones out of the sky from two miles away.

The groundbreaking weapon uses a high powered 50kW laser, and is powerful enough to cut through a steel girder from 1km away, yet accurate enough to hit a target the size of a mortar round.

Read more ....

My Comment: And this is only the first generation .... makes you wonder what is next.

Star Wars On The High Seas

U.S. Navy Just Two Years Away From Arming Warships With Laser Weapons Capable Of Destroying Incoming Missiles And Aircraft -- Daily Mail

Once the stuff of science fiction and James Bond movies, the U.S. Navy is now just two years away from arming it’s ships with the first generation of ‘directed energy’ laser weapons.

The weapons are designed to track and fire on threats to a warship that could include anything from armed drones and small 'swarm' boats to incoming missiles and aircraft.

According to Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, the chief of the Office of Naval Research, a series of successful tests in recent months have enabled the Navy to halve its predicted timeline for mounting laser weapons on vessels.

Read more ....

More News On the U.S. Navy's Laser Weapon Deployment Plans

Navy’s Top Geek Says Laser Arsenal Is Just Two Years Away -- Danger Room
Navy’s Laser Weapons Just 2 Years Away, Admiral Says -- ABC News
Top Naval Officer: Expect To See Lasers On Ships Within 2 Years -- CBS News
US Navy eyes laser arsenal by 2014 -- GMA News
Navy Will Get Lasers in 2 Years, Admiral Says -- Tech News Daily
US Navy now expects laser cannons on ships in Just Two Years Away -- Next Big Future
Navy Lasers’ First Target: Enemy Drones -- Danger Room
'Star Wars' at sea: US Navy could deploy laser weapon in two years -- RT

Here Comes The U.S. Army's Monster Laser Truck

Not quite handheld yet... The truck-mounted laser weapons system that Boeing and the Pentagon hopes will prove the efficacy of the technology on the battlefield

The Death-Ray On Wheels: US Army Begins Testing Monster Laser Truck That Can Shoot Down Anything, Including Missiles -- Daily Mail

* Boeing's land-based laser weapon could be used for missile defence
* Beam will hit targets at a phenomenal 186,000 miles a second

Laser weapons are a step closer to deployment on Earth's battlefields as a U.S. defence company gears up to test a new land-based device.

Boeing has announced that it has successfully mounted a 10kw solid-state laser on an eight-wheeled, 500-horsepower truck that could be used alongside conventional Army forces.

The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) is now ready for field testing and over the next year will have a chance to show off its ability to acquire, track and destroy targets.

Read more ....

More News On Boeing's U.S. Army Laser Truck

The Army's eight-wheeled laser truck that zaps enemy missiles -- The Week
Boeing Just Put The Finishing Touches On An 8-Wheeled Laser Truck -- Business Insider
Boeing trucks ahead with 8-wheeling laser weapon -- CNet
Truck Mounted High Energy Laser For Destroying Incoming Rocket and Artillery To Be Tested Next Year -- Ottawa Citizen
Pew pew: Boeing's laser truck powers up -- Dvice
Boeing lands $16M laser weapon follow-up -- Optics.org

A Laser That Shoots Lightning

Guided lightning bolt travels horizontally, then hits a car.
(Credit: U.S. Army)

Brrzzzt! U.S. Army Checks Out Laser-Based Lightning Tech -- CNet

Future weapon would seek out targets that conduct electricity better than the air or ground that surrounds them.

Earlier this spring, the U.S. Army revealed the existence of a project underway to build a device that could shoot lightning bolts down laser beams to take out a target. Now the military's boffins report success in their first tests.

The technology -- known as laser-induced plasma channel -- is designed to seek out targets that conduct electricity better than the air or ground that surrounds them.

Read more ....

More News On the U.S. Army's Laser That Shoots Lightning

US army builds lightning bolt laser weapon -- Wired
Army Developing Laser That Shoots Lightning -- CBS
The Power of Zeus, In The Hands Of The U.S Military -- Ubergizmo
U.S. Army weapon shoots lightning bolts down laser beams -- Gizmag
Army tests lightning weapon -- Salon/Global Post
Army looks to strike foes with lightning weapon -- FOX News

U.S. Navy Making Strides In High-Energy Laser Development

Watch the Navy Set a Boat on Fire with Their New Laser Gun -- Techland/Time

Remember the German guy who built his own working laser gun? That was nothing. The US Navy successfully tested their version of a weaponized laser, which they used to set fire to a boat off the coast of California.

Peter Morrison, program officer for the MLD warship raygun project says, "This is the first time a High Energy Laser, at these power levels, has been put on a Navy ship, powered from that ship and used to defeat a target at-range in a maritime environment."

Read more ....

More News On The U.S. Navy And Its Development Of Lasers

Laser gun fired off a U.S. Navy ship for the first time as researchers set fire to another boat with high-energy beam -- The Daily Mail
U.S. Navy getting closer to arming ships with lasers -- CNET
Navy tests laser gun by zapping motorboat off California coast -- L.A. Times
Navy tests laser gun by blasting empty boat -- Kansas City
Navy raygun disables boat with new high energy laser -- MSNBC
"Star Wars" for the seas: Laser weapon zaps test vessel -- CBS News
U.S. Navy’s Ship-Mounted Laser Weapon. It Works. With Video. -- Discover
US Navy laser cannon used to set boat aflame -- The Register
Laser gun tested on US Navy ship in Pacific Ocean -- BBC
Navy Uses Laser to Cripple Ship in First Sea Test -- Daily Tech
High-Energy, Solid-State Laser Shows Lethality Against Small Boat Threats -- Defpro

U.S. Navy Has A Breakthrough In Its Laser Program

The battleships of the future will be equipped with mega-watt free electron lasers. Photo from FOX News

US Office Of Naval Research Achieves Milestone -- Space Daily

Scientists at Los Alamos National Lab, N.M., have achieved a remarkable breakthrough with the Office of Naval Research's Free Electron Laser (FEL) program, demonstrating an injector capable of producing the electrons needed to generate megawatt-class laser beams for the Navy's next-generation weapon system.

The Dec. 20 milestone, which occurred months ahead of schedule, will be the highlight of a two-day preliminary design review scheduled Jan. 20-21 in Virginia.

Read more ....

More News On The U.S. Navy's Breakthrough In The FEL Program

Navy Reports a ‘Breakthrough’ for Its Superlaser -- The Danger Room
U.S. Navy Laser Will Zap Enemy Weapons Out of the Sky -- PC Magazine
Breakthrough Laser Could Revolutionize Navy's Weaponry -- FOX News
Raygun dreadnought project reports 'remarkable breakthrough' -- The Register
Navy Has Breakthrough in Laser Tech -- Technabob
Navy reaches milestone with 'raygun' laser weapon -- TG Daily
The Navy's Megawatt Laser Weapon Takes a Big Leap Forward with Powerful New Electron Injector -- Popsci
US Navy’s giant laser beam program nine months ahead of schedule -- Top News

Advances In The Navy's Megawatt Laser Weapon Is Surprising Everyone

Naval Lasing Raytheon's prototype ship-borne laser system has effectively shot down UAVs from the deck of a ship. The Navy wants a more versatile free electron laser weapon to perform a variety of security tasks, including target designation, tracking, and--of course--target elimination. Raytheon

The Navy's Megawatt Laser Weapon Takes A Big Leap Forward With Powerful New Electron Injector -- Popular Science

It’s unclear which is the bigger news coming out of the Office of Naval Research; the fact that the Navy’s Free Electron Laser (FEL) program has demonstrated an injector capable of producing the necessary electrons to fuel a megawatt-class laser beam, or the fact that a next-generation future weapon under development by the military is months ahead of schedule. Both are good news for the Navy, which might begin lasing threats out of the sky sooner than it anticipated.

Read more ....

Lasers To Protect Ships From Pirate Attacks?

British engineers are developing a new type of defence system that uses lasers to incapacitate pirates by dazzling them

Laser Canons To Defend Ships From Pirates -- The Telegraph

Lasers canons could be mounted on ships and boats to help fight off pirates attempting to board the vessels.

British engineers are developing a new type of defence system that uses lasers to incapacitate pirates by dazzling them as they approach a ship.

The non-lethal weapon, which has been developed by defence company BAE Systems, is effective against moving targets more than a mile away.

The company has started developing the laser in response to the growing threat from pirates to commercial vessels, particularly off the coast of Somalia where there have been several high profile hijackings.

Read more ....

My Comment: If the system is affordable, it is a practical defense against pirate attacks.

The Navy's Free Electron Laser System Will Be More Than Just A Death Ray

The Navy Wants a Multipurpose Laser to Eliminate Threats at Sea U.S. Navy

From Popular Science:

The Navy has been seeking its “Holy Grail” free electron laser (FEL) weapon for a while now, but it would rather you think of it more as a multipurpose laser platform than a death ray. While the Navy’s ship-borne FEL, currently under development at Boeing, will certainly be used to knock incoming threats out of the sky, naval officers really want a platform that can also be used for tracking, communications, target designation, disruption, time-of-flight location, and a variety of other tasks.

Read more ....

Advances In Laser Research Opens Up Military Possibilities

Laser-Powered Warfare Lockheed's RELI laser, developed under a DARPA contract, works like an inverse prism to focus several different wavelengths of laser light. Lockheed Martin

In New Attempt to Build a Practical Military Laser Weapon, Lockheed Inverts a Prism -- Popular Science

Lasers can be powerful weapons — they can take down an aircraft at long ranges and in unstable conditions, for instance. But they are hampered by power and size limits, so they’re not widely used by the military (yet).

Lockheed Martin has a solution: a fiber laser that basically works like a backward prism.

Read more ....

My Comment: I suspect that they still have a very long way to go before anything that is workable on the battlefield becomes possible. Still .... the research looks promising.

The Theoretical Energy Ceiling For Lasers Is Approaching

Construction Worker in Laser Target Chamber at National Ignition Facility Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Coming Generation Of Lasers May Be The Most Powerful Lasers That Will Ever Lase -- Popular Science

The theoretical energy ceiling for lasers is approaching.

The most powerful lasers now being built, such as the forthcoming Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) project underway in Europe, may approach the physical ceiling of laser intensity -- they may turn out to be the most powerful lasers that ever can be built, says a new article on the PhysicsBuzz blog.

That finite limit on how intense a laser can get is hypothesized to exist because, at sufficiently high energies, matter can be created out of light.

Read more ....

My Comment: I am sure that many in Darpa (and equivalent programs in other countries), are watching these experiments very closely.

Air Force Calls For Airborne Electric Lasers That Can Target Land and Air

Laser Fight in the Sky I'll get you, Joes! DARPA

From Popular Science:

The challenge is packing the power of a chemical laser into an electric laser's smaller, more portable package.

Skyborne chemical lasers have successfully shown off their potential killing power, and so the Air Force has now turned toward putting a more compact electric laser aboard its aircraft, Aviation Week'sAres Defense Blog reports.

Read more ....

My Comment: I still have trouble seeing any real practical applications for this technology. But with Darpa .... I guess the journey of discovery is what they are focusing on.

Video: Boeing's Truck-Mounted Laser Neatly Picks Off 50 IEDs In A Row

From Popular Science:

Boeing's laser weapons have already shown the power to blast aerial drones from the sky, but may find even more immediate use in detonating roadside bombs, which are a top killer of soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. A newly unveiled video shows the company's truck-mounted Laser Avenger destroying two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during a series of 50 test firings that took place at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama last September, according to OptoIQ.

Read more ....

Boeing's Latest Mobile Laser Weapon Tracks And Shoots Down Drone

Laser Defense: Boeing's MATRIX high-energy directed weapon knocks a UAV out of the sky. U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory

From Popular Science:

Boeing has just announced it successfully tracked and shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle with a laser weapon. Actually, it shot down five UAVs at various ranges with the trailer-mounted Mobile Active Targeting Resource for Integrated eXperiments (MATRIX).

Developed at the request of the Air Force Research Laboratory, MATRIX integrates with standard test-range radar, focusing a single energy beam on moving aerial vehicles and blasting them out of the sky. It's the future of aerial seek and destroy, defending against always-orbiting unmanned craft.

Read more ....

My Comment: Interesting .... but we are probably years (if not decades) before we have a workable prototype that can be put into a battlefield situation.

Air Force Uses Airborne Lasers to Create High-Speed Data Links

Airborne Laser Link Air Force phone home Brian Rhea, Director, Corporate Communications, AOptix Technologies

From Popular Science:

Researchers have tested the laser links at distances of almost 22 miles during flight.

Manned Air Force jets and drones could soon send high quality video and audio by using ultra-high bandwidth lasers, transmitting critical battlefield data faster than ever. The Air Force Office of Scientific Research has conducted experiments that transmit data without interference across almost 22 miles, both in the air and on the ground.

Read more ....

Astronomers Clash With US Air Force Over Laser Rules

The Gemini North observatory in Hawaii fires a laser into the sky as part of its adaptive optics system (Image: Gemini Observatory)

From New Scientist:

Could astronomers accidentally blind Earth-observing satellites? That seems to be the worry of the US air force, which restricts the use of lasers pointed at the sky to help focus telescopes. But some astronomers warn they will miss key observations under the rules, which have tightened in recent years.

Many of the world's largest observatories, including Lick, Gemini North, Palomar and Keck in the US, shine lasers into the sky to measure atmospheric turbulence, which distorts images.

Read more ....

My Comment: This is probably a bigger problem than what the U.S. Air Force is willing to admit.