Laser/Beam weapons

[LETHALFORCE]

EU Builds Giant Laser - Business Insider

The EU Is Building The World's Most Powerful Laser Beam To 'Zap' Nuclear Waste


The European Union will spend approximately $900 million on a project to build the world's most intense, powerful laser beam in order to eviscerate nuclear waste and possibly provide new cancer treatments as well.
The EXTREME LIGHT INFRASTRUCTURE project (ELI) involves nearly 40 research and academic institutions from 13 different states within the European Unioin.
ELI's coordinator at its Romanian facility, Nicolae-Victor Zamfir, told Bloomberg that the lasers are "10 times more powerful than any yet built and will be strong enough to create subatomic particles in a vacuum, similar to conditions that may have followed the start of the universe."
"Eventually," according to Zamfir, "the power of the light beams could be used to deteriorate the radioactivity of nuclear waste in just a few seconds and target cancerous tumors."
The cancer treatment would be similar to a current experiential process known as hadron therapy. The therapy is particularly effective in targeting cancers located in areas "which are inaccessible to the surgeon's instruments or which are hard to treat by radiotherapy," like brain tumors, those in areas close to the spinal cord, or inside the eye.
There will be four separate sites throughout Europe that make up the facility when it is completed: the one in Romania, another in Hungary, a third in the Czech Republic, and a fourth in a location that has yet to be named (but will be by the end of 2012).
The laser is expected to become operational in 2017.


Read more: EU Builds Giant Laser - Business Insider

 

[W.G.Ewald]

^^
I would like to see equations for the energy interactions with the isotopes (which are not specified). Would the nuclear and medical processes be performed at the same site? Somewhat more descriptive material about physics here ELI-NP | Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Ground Based Laser System Demonstrates In Tests Against Rockets and UAVs

Ground Based Laser System against Rockets and UAVs


Lockheed Martin has demonstrated a portable, ground-based military laser system in a series of tests against representative airborne targets. Lockheed Martin developed the Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) system to provide a defense against short-range threats, such as rockets and unmanned aerial systems.

Since August, the ADAM system has successfully engaged an unmanned aerial system target in flight at a range of approximately 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) and has destroyed four small-caliber rocket targets in simulated flight at a range of approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).

"Lockheed Martin has invested in the development of the ADAM system because of the enormous potential effectiveness of high-energy lasers," said Doug Graham, Lockheed Martin's vice president of advanced programs for Strategic and Missile Defense Systems.

"We are committed to supporting the transition of directed energy's revolutionary capability to the war fighter."

Designed for short-range defense of high-value areas including forward operating bases, the ADAM system's 10-kilowatt fiber laser is engineered to destroy targets up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away.

The system precisely tracks targets in cluttered optical environments and has a tracking range of more than 5 kilometers (3.1 miles).

The system has been designed to be flexible enough to operate against rockets as a standalone system and to engage unmanned aerial systems with an external radar cue.

The ADAM system's modular architecture combines commercial hardware components with the company's proprietary software in an integrated and easy-to-operate system.

"Lockheed Martin has applied its expertise as a laser weapon system integrator to provide a practical and affordable defense against serious threats to military forces and installations," said Paul Shattuck, Lockheed Martin's director of directed energy systems for Strategic and Missile Defense Systems.

"In developing the ADAM system, we combined our proven laser beam control architecture with commercial hardware to create a capable, integrated laser weapon system."

Lockheed Martin has been a pioneer in the development and demonstration of high-energy laser capabilities for more than 30 years and has made key advances in areas such as precision pointing and control, line-of-sight stabilization and adaptive optics.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

DARPA is serious about laser weapons - CBS News

DARPA is serious about laser weapons


The Pentagon wants laser weapons badly. Their first foray into the realm of ray guns was the impressive-but-impractical Airborne Laser Testbed, a Boeing 747 with a giant laser mounted on its nose. That project was scrapped, but the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is moving ahead with two new plans to make laser weaponry a reality.

The High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System (HELLADS) is DARPA's answer to increasingly sophisticated surface-to-air threats. These liquid-cooled lasers would be mounted on turrets on combat airplanes to shoot down incoming rockets or missiles.

DARPA's description of HELLADS also mentions "additional capability for offensive missions as well -- adding precise targeting with low probability of collateral damage."

The goal of the project is to design a 150-kilowatt system small enough to fit on fighter jets and bombers. DARPA says that HELLADS will be "ten times smaller and lighter than current lasers of similar power."

The second project DARPA is working on is Aero-Adaptive/Aero-Optic Beam Control (ABC). This system is more defensive than HELLADS. The ABC lasers are designed to shoot backwards -- the direction that most oncoming missiles come from. The difficulty with this is that the turbulence generated by a jet engine can de-focus laser beams and makes targeting a challenge. Like HELLADS, the laser would be mounted on a turret.

Both projects are much further along than one might think. HELLADS will see its first real-world, airborne tests next year. ABC has passed wind tunnel tests and Lockheed Martin has a 30-month contract to make the system a reality.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Small step toward Star Wars - DARPA pushes forward with aircraft-based lasers

Small Step Toward Star Wars - DARPA Pushes Forward With Aircraft-Based Lasers


The White House may have shot down the petition for the U.S. to build it's own Death Star, but science fiction fans can take heart - the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is still in their corner. While planet-annihilating space stations may be out of the picture, the X-Wings that took them down might be coming a step closer as the Department of Defense's research arm is pushing forward with a project to test aircraft-based lasers, according to Aviation Week.

Unlike the iconic starfighter, this particular laser is not meant to be used as an offensive weapon, but rather would serve as a defensive system protecting aircraft from incoming surface-to-air missiles and rockets.

The idea is for the laser to be to swivel around to target missiles as they are detected and quickly overheat them to the point of structural failure. The advantage of these systems compared to chaff, ejected material designed to confuse targeting systems, and other mechanical approaches is that lasers can be targeted extremely precisely, providing greater certainty that the missile will be disabled.

Just as importantly, it is effectively impossible for targets to avoid laser strikes, since the attack occurs at the speed of light.

Overcoming limitations
Unfortunately, to this point, laser systems have largely not met the desired weight to power ratio of five kilograms per kilowatt, an important consideration for aircraft traveling large distances on limited fuel. But intensive engineering research and development by General Atomics Aeronautics Systems has resulted in the creation of an effective 34-kilowatt model that meets that crucial design goal.

One expert told Fast Company that older laser systems could be as large as a passenger jet, and so were impractical for use in flight.

However, it turns out that one of the biggest limiting factors was actually the inability of these laser systems to accurately compensate for turbulence in the air behind the fast-moving jets. General Atomics' new design uses advanced optics and and other engineering advances to work past this limitation, giving it the ability to attack targets coming from any direction.

Testing the next generation
Known as HELLADS - High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System - this system combines the advantages of high-powered solid-state lasers with the continuous firing capability of liquid-cooled lasers, making them significantly more effective and weight efficient than either traditional approaches.

More importantly, each of the critical components has already been tested and relatively well-proven at this point, only requiring engineers to put all the pieces together for a full-scale trial.

General Atomics was scheduled to put together a larger 150-kilowatt laser - large enough, the Air Force estimates, to take down surface-based missiles - by the end of last year. These components will all need to be proven once again, with in-flight tests planned for sometime next year.

Growing field
Lasers are seeing increasing use in military applications around the world. In addition to HELLADS, the U.S. had also been working with the Israeli government to develop the Nautilus Tactical High Energy Laser, a ground-based defensive system designed to prevent rocket attacks, until it backed out of the project in 2006. Israel eventually rolled out a working model of the system, but it has yet to see widespread implementation.

In the meantime, countries from Russia to India have also begun research in laser defense, while HELLADS could prove powerful enough to provide a defense against even larger systems like unmanned drones. And, of course, high-energy batteries are also an increasing area of engineering research with the rising prominence of intermittent renewable energy sources, leading to advances that could easily be applied to military-grade lasers.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

The science of beam weapons | ExtremeTech

 

[Twinblade]

Geopolitics magazine, July 2013 issue, page 60.

LASTEC (a DRDO laser laboratory) has developed a counter IED laser to deflagrate IEDs.
http://www.geopolitics.in/july2013.aspx

 

[Twinblade]

Geopolitics magazine, July 2013 issue, page 60.

LASTEC (a DRDO laser laboratory) has developed a counter IED laser to deflagrate IEDs.
July 2013

(no better pics available)
LORDS (Laser Ordnance disposal system) prototype mounted on Tata-LSV. The aim is to destroy IEDs at ranges as far as 250 meters. The system is under testing since 2010.

 

[cobra commando]

The Ray of Death: Directed- Energy Weapons


The Ray of Death: Directed-Energy Weapons » Indian Defence Review

 

[cloud]

cross posted

Laser-Powered Aerial Electricity



US fighter aircraft manufacturers are delving deeper into the field of unmanned air systems (UASs). Lockheed Martin, the producer of the F-16 and F-35 fighter aircraft, is investing in the development of a method for transferring electric power to UASs through the use of lasers, in order to provide them with a very long endurance period.
As previously reported by IsraelDefense, Boeing, the manufacturer of the F-15 and F-18 fighter aircraft, signed a cooperation agreement with Israel's Elbit Systems last week, for cooperating in the field of UASs. Lockheed Martin, the competing US aircraft manufacturer, recently carried out a test in the framework of the flight of a small UAS. In its framework, electric energy was transferred to the UAS's engine through the use of a directed laser beam.
The UAS has an endurance of only two hours, yet it stayed aloft for approximately 48 hours in the framework of the test. According to the US aircraft manufacturer, the test was stopped after 48 hours only because the duration of the flight had considerably surpassed what was initially planned. The test was conducted within a wind tunnel, and now another test is being planned for an ordinary flight.
Many companies around the world are attempting to use focused, directed lasers in order to transfer energy to UASs and satellites. The method, known as Laser Beaming, will allow these instruments to operate in a near unlimited capacity, as they will no longer depend on the lifespans of batteries.

Seems like a very good concept especially if those UAVs are turned into mini AWACS enabling them for very long endurance patrolling.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Laser Demonstration Reveals Bright Future for Space Communication

Laser Demonstration Reveals Bright Future for Space Communication



The completion of the 30-day Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration or LLCD mission has revealed that the possibility of expanding broadband capabilities in space using laser communications is as bright as expected.

Hosted aboard the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer known as LADEE, for its ride to lunar orbit, the LLCD was designed to confirm laser communication capabilities from a distance of almost a quarter-of-a-million miles.

In addition to demonstrating record-breaking data download and upload speeds to the moon at 622 megabits per second (Mbps) and 20 Mbps, respectively, LLCD also showed that it could operate as well as any NASA radio system. "Throughout our testing we did not see anything that would prevent the operational use of this technology in the immediate future," said Don Cornwell, LLCD mission manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

For example, LLCD demonstrated error-free communications during broad daylight, including operating when the moon was to within three degrees of the sun as seen from Earth. LLCD also demonstrated error-free communications when the moon was low on the horizon, less than 4 degrees, as seen from the ground station, which also demonstrated that wind and atmospheric turbulence did not significantly impact the system. LLCD was even able to communicate through thin clouds, an unexpected bonus.

Operationally, LLCD demonstrated the ability to download data from the LADEE spacecraft itself. "We were able to download LADEE's entire stored science and spacecraft data [1 gigabyte] in less than five minutes, which was only limited to our 40 Mbps connection to that data within LADEE" said Cornwell.

Using LADEE's onboard radio system would take several days to complete a download of the same stored data. Additionally, LLCD was to prove the integrity of laser technology to send not only error-free data but also uncorrupted commands and telemetry or monitoring messages to and from the spacecraft over the laser link.

LLCD also demonstrated the ability to "hand-off" the laser connection from one ground station to another, just as a cellphone does a hand-off from one cell tower to another. An additional achievement was the ability to operate LLCD without using LADEE's radio at all.

"We were able to program LADEE to awaken the LLCD space terminal and have it automatically point and communicate to the ground station at a specific time without radio commands. This demonstrates that this technology could serve as the primary communications system for future NASA missions," said Cornwell.

The ability of LLCD to send and receive high definition video was proven with a message from NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, completing the trip to the moon and back with only a few seconds of delay.

"Administrator Bolden's message demonstrates NASA's support for advancing this technology for both space and Earth applications," said Cornwell. "It also allowed the LLCD team to showcase the quality and fidelity of our HD video transmissions over our laser communication link to and from the moon."

Cornwell acknowledged that the LLCD mission is another great example of NASA partnerships with outside organizations to advance unproven technologies. He credits the work of Don Boroson and his team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory (MIT/LL) in Lexington, Mass., for developing and operating both the space and ground laser communications terminals for LLCD.

"We could not have made such great strides without the work of our partners at MIT/LL," Cornwell said. "Their years of work and knowledge produced a communications system that far exceeded our expectation."

NASA's follow-on mission for laser communications will be the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LRCD). Also managed at Goddard, LCRD will demonstrate continuous laser relay communication capabilities at over one billion bits per second between two Earth stations using a satellite in geosynchronous orbit.

The system also will support communications with Earth-orbiting satellites. More importantly, LCRD will demonstrate this operational capability for as long as five years, thus building more confidence in the reliability of this laser technology.

"We are very encouraged by the results of LLCD," said Badri Younes, NASA's deputy associate administrator for Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) in Washington, which sponsored the mission. "From where I sit, the future looks very bright for laser communications."

So it appears NASA could be making the next paradigm shift in communications in the not too distant future. The same technology that has vastly upgraded our broadband connections on Earth could be expanding communications possibilities for NASA in the not-too-distant future.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

http://missilethreat.com/know-more-about-indias-top-secret-weapon-kali-5000/


Kali details

 

[cobra commando]

Lockheed Martin
Demonstrates Weapons Grade High Power Fiber Laser


Lockheed Martin Demonstrates Weapons Grade High Power Fiber Laser · Lockheed Martin

 

[Twinblade]

Ground based 25 Kw Gas Dynamic laser (Aditya) tech demonstrator. (reports say it has been successfully tested against airborne targets)

 

[cobra commando]

Russian Military Forces To
Get New Laser Technology:
Report

Russia's scientists have developed a new laser technology which protects the sensitive elements of the optical devices used in military equipments, according to RIA Novosti. "Our army may face this challenge, so we have designed special built-in filters that could ensure protection from laser attacks," Dmitry Chesnokov, a dean of the faculty of nanotechnologies at the Siberian State Geodesic Academy was quoted as saying, adding that these filters can also be used to increase combat survivability of unmanned aerial vehicles.
In addition, the report says many countries are already developing high-power lasers capable of destroying optical sensors used in various types of weaponry, including night vision devices and optical guidance systems. The scientist said the new technology requires only slight modification of existing optical systems and the addition of a filter, which would not significantly increase the cost of weaponry. The preliminary talks with the Russian military are under way. Chesnokov said the new technology had been thoroughly tested and is ready for implementation.



Russian Military Forces To Get New Laser Technology: Report

 

[cobra commando]

EXCALIBUR PROTOTYPE
EXTENDS REACH OF HIGH-
ENERGY LASERS

High-energy lasers (HEL) have the potential to benefit a variety of military missions, particularly as weapons or as high-bandwidth communications devices. However, the massive size, weight and power requirements (SWaP) of legacy laser systems limit their use on many military platforms. Even if SWaP limitations can be overcome, turbulence manifested as density fluctuations in the atmosphere increase laser beam size at the target, further limiting laser target irradiance and effectiveness over long distances. Recently, DARPA's Excalibur program successfully developed and employed a 21- element optical phased array (OPA) with each array element driven by fiber laser amplifiers. This low power array was used to precisely hit a target 7 kilometers—more than 4 miles away. The OPA used in these experiments consisted of three identical clusters of seven tightly packed fiber lasers, with each cluster only 10 centimeters across. "The success of this real-world test provides evidence of how far OPA lasers could surpass legacy lasers with conventional optics," said Joseph Mangano, DARPA program manager. "It also bolsters arguments for this technology's scalability and its suitability for high-power testing. DARPA is planning tests over the next three years to demonstrate capabilities at increasing power levels, ultimately up to 100 kilowatts —power levels otherwise difficult to achieve in such a small package." In addition to scalability, Excalibur demonstrated near- perfect correction of atmospheric turbulence—at levels well above that possible with conventional optics.


Read more here:
2014/03/06 Excalibur Prototype Extends Reach of High-Energy Lasers

 

[cobra commando]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8-6tbo8amfE

Lockheed Martin Demonstrates Adam Ground-Based Laser System Against Military-Grade Small Boats · Lockheed Martin

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Prototype laser system used against small boats

 

[asianobserve]

10Kw Laser Demonstrates Directed Energy Weapons' Role in Force Protection

Lockheed Martin is developing the transportable, ground-based ADAM laser system to demonstrate a practical, affordable defense against short-range threats, including Qassam-like rockets, unmanned aerial systems and small boats


10Kw laser demonstrates directed energy weapons’ role in force protection | Defense Update: