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Studeo
20th July 2010, 20:38
US firm Raytheon has unveiled its anti-aircraft laser at the Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire.

The Laser Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) can either be used on its own or alongside a gunnery system.

In May, the laser was used to shoot down unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a series of tests.

Raytheon said the solid state fibre laser produces a 50 kilowatt beam and can be used against UAV, mortar, rockets and small surface ships.

The idea of using lasers as weapons has been around almost as long as the laser itself, invented in 1960.

Initially, the systems were chemical lasers, which get their power from a chemical reaction. They are very large pieces of equipment and are very fuel hungry, requiring a significant quantity of chemicals to drive them. The fuel is frequently toxic, requiring operators to don protective clothing.

Solid state lasers, in contrast, consist of a glass or ceramic material to generate a laser beam.

They are smaller, more compact and only require an energy input to generate the beam, although the energy required is still significant.

However, until recently, solid state lasers were not able to reach the same power levels as chemical lasers and so were not deemed suitable for military use....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10682693

Etherios
20th July 2010, 20:49
Well i guess they are slowly passing us the tech they already have ... slowly and without big bang so that we wont react.

Fredkc
20th July 2010, 21:12
Last time I worked on a similar project was back in the early 90s.
No idea what they finally settled on, though.

It was one of the "great ideas" I wish we could un-invent.

tone3jaguar
20th July 2010, 21:12
You can make or purchase a hand held laser now that has a 1 watt output for about 200 bucks. It can catch things on fire.

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The problem they have always had with weaponized lasers is that because they are a beam of light, any atmospheric condition that can scatter light will render them useless. So if it is over cast and you are trying to shoot down a missile or airplane that is above the cloud bank, you are out of luck no matter how powerful the laser is. The water droplets in the cloud will scatter the light.

Lasers are cool tech though. I have got a 150 milliwatt green laser that makes a very nice visible beam at night that can be seen all the way to the clouds. In comparison a presentation style pointer is about 5 milliwatts.

Etherios
22nd July 2010, 11:54
this are getting hotter and hotter... i like the title ... mythical enemy lol

Lasers... (http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/114320-0/)

Anchor
22nd July 2010, 13:37
I saw the best comment ever on these Raytheon lasers on a tech forum....

"Do they come shark mounted?"

John..

Fredkc
22nd July 2010, 14:10
Remote control platforms (Predators, etc)
Autonomous platforms,
and now ...
Lethal lasers to mount on them.

And the lovely truth is, all of this will wind up being used for "domestic problems" sooner or later.


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