Laser/Beam weapons
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nrj
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Laser warfare takes to the waves
THE US navy approved designs last week for a shipboard laser that it hopes will focus a 100-kilowatt beam through the ocean mist.
The system will be based on the free-electron laser, invented in the 1970s by John Madey, which generates light from a powerful beam of electrons.
A big attraction of the free-electron laser is the ability to adjust its output wavelength to improve transmission through the thick, moist air at sea, says Mike Rinn of Boeing, which produced the initial designs. Other laser weapons emit at fixed wavelengths. Also, the laser is electrically powered, so it can recharge quickly, potentially allowing for repeat bursts of fire.
The next step is deciding who will do the detailed design and build the system, which is expected to cost around $160 million.
Source
THE US navy approved designs last week for a shipboard laser that it hopes will focus a 100-kilowatt beam through the ocean mist.
The system will be based on the free-electron laser, invented in the 1970s by John Madey, which generates light from a powerful beam of electrons.
A big attraction of the free-electron laser is the ability to adjust its output wavelength to improve transmission through the thick, moist air at sea, says Mike Rinn of Boeing, which produced the initial designs. Other laser weapons emit at fixed wavelengths. Also, the laser is electrically powered, so it can recharge quickly, potentially allowing for repeat bursts of fire.
The next step is deciding who will do the detailed design and build the system, which is expected to cost around $160 million.
Source
nandu
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Lasers Lose Their Luster
After a decade of enthusiasm for laser weapons, the U.S. Department of Defense is backing off. The main problem is getting the weapons to the point where they can actually be used under combat conditions. That calls for rugged, reliable and mobile weapons. Lasers have too often failed in all three categories.
One of the biggest, and most expensive, disappointments has been the YAL-1, a powerful laser mounted in a Boeing 747 transport, and capable of burning a hole in a ballistic missile, up to 130 kilometers distant, as it is taking off. This destroys the ballistic missile when it is most vulnerable. The YAL-1 project was eight years behind schedule and $4 billion over budget when it was canceled last year as unlikely to be ready for use anytime soon. Also noted was the likely paucity of situations where enemy ballistic missile launch sites would be within range. The YAL-1 worked in tests, but was nowhere near needed levels of reliability for regular use. It's been the same with less powerful lasers, designed to knock down rockets and shells.
A persistent problem with combat lasers is generating sufficient electrical power to drive them. But the U.S. Army and Air Force have discovered that low power lasers can be pretty lethal battlefield weapons. For decades, the conventional wisdom was that you needed a high powered laser (as in instantly burning through the metal skin of a missile). But over the last few years, it's become obvious that slow burn (lower powered) lasers will do useful stuff like cause the explosives in shells, missiles and roadside bombs to go off. That was thought to be potentially very useful, but the U.S. Department of Defense conducted lots of tests in the last five years, only to discover that these cheaper, easier to use (because of the lower power requirements) lasers were also not yet ready for prime time. A lot of work was also done on lasers that can blind enemy sensors. This sort of thing has been around for years, but new, cheaper and more sensitive sensors are also more vulnerable to lasers. This didn't work out either.
While scaling back most efforts to develop laser weapons into systems that can actually be used in combat, the military is continuing to do a lot of basic engineering work. Breakthroughs in battery power and laser design can eventually solve a lot of the existing problems. Meanwhile, lasers continue to proliferate as measuring tools (laser range finders) and sensors (ladar). The laser weapons, it's agreed, are going to arrive later, rather than sooner.
http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/Lasers-Lose-Their-Luster-5-27-2010.asp
After a decade of enthusiasm for laser weapons, the U.S. Department of Defense is backing off. The main problem is getting the weapons to the point where they can actually be used under combat conditions. That calls for rugged, reliable and mobile weapons. Lasers have too often failed in all three categories.
One of the biggest, and most expensive, disappointments has been the YAL-1, a powerful laser mounted in a Boeing 747 transport, and capable of burning a hole in a ballistic missile, up to 130 kilometers distant, as it is taking off. This destroys the ballistic missile when it is most vulnerable. The YAL-1 project was eight years behind schedule and $4 billion over budget when it was canceled last year as unlikely to be ready for use anytime soon. Also noted was the likely paucity of situations where enemy ballistic missile launch sites would be within range. The YAL-1 worked in tests, but was nowhere near needed levels of reliability for regular use. It's been the same with less powerful lasers, designed to knock down rockets and shells.
A persistent problem with combat lasers is generating sufficient electrical power to drive them. But the U.S. Army and Air Force have discovered that low power lasers can be pretty lethal battlefield weapons. For decades, the conventional wisdom was that you needed a high powered laser (as in instantly burning through the metal skin of a missile). But over the last few years, it's become obvious that slow burn (lower powered) lasers will do useful stuff like cause the explosives in shells, missiles and roadside bombs to go off. That was thought to be potentially very useful, but the U.S. Department of Defense conducted lots of tests in the last five years, only to discover that these cheaper, easier to use (because of the lower power requirements) lasers were also not yet ready for prime time. A lot of work was also done on lasers that can blind enemy sensors. This sort of thing has been around for years, but new, cheaper and more sensitive sensors are also more vulnerable to lasers. This didn't work out either.
While scaling back most efforts to develop laser weapons into systems that can actually be used in combat, the military is continuing to do a lot of basic engineering work. Breakthroughs in battery power and laser design can eventually solve a lot of the existing problems. Meanwhile, lasers continue to proliferate as measuring tools (laser range finders) and sensors (ladar). The laser weapons, it's agreed, are going to arrive later, rather than sooner.
http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/Lasers-Lose-Their-Luster-5-27-2010.asp
LETHALFORCE
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10257425.stm
Lasers could 'sense' vapours released by explosives
UK scientists claim to have developed laser technology able to sense hidden explosives.
The technology could help to detect landmines and roadside bombs and to improve airport security.
The team from University of St Andrews produced a laser by "pumping" a type of plastic called polyfluorene with photons from another light source.
They found the laser reacted with vapours from explosives such as TNT.
The work was published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
Graham Turnbull, a physicist at the University of St Andrew's in Fife, UK, is one of the authors of the study.
He explained that the researchers created a mechanism able to sense TNT-like molecules frequently used in explosives at extremely low concentrations - less than 10 parts per billion.
"Floating above a landmine in Iraq or Afghanistan, there's a very weak, dilute cloud of vapours of explosive molecules that the bomb is made from," said the Dr Turnbull.
Continue reading the main story
"A small number of these TNT-like molecules comes into contact with a plastic film that the laser is (produced) from, interacts with the light-emitting molecules in the laser and switches off the light emission."
The scientist explained that this interaction of TNT-like molecules with the polymer chain provides a totally new way to stop the laser from working.
Ifor Samuel, Dr Turnbull's colleague and a co-athor of the study, said that once developed, such mechanisms could sense any kind of explosive device - including roadside bombs - a major issue in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"This technology is important because polymer lasers, since they're made of plastic, could be made very easily and because it's a very new property for a laser to have," he said.
The plastic laser approach could detect lower concentrations of explosive
This sort of technique has been looked at in the past. But this is the first time researchers have used a plastic laser, said Dr Turnbull.
This allows the detection of much lower concentrations of explosive vapours, he added.
The scientist believes that one of the ways to use this type of laser would be to have it on a robotic, perhaps remotely controlled, vehicle that would be able to "sniff around" in a mine field, looking for vapour clouds.
He also suggested using the system as a means to improve airport security, to detect explosive vapours coming from people's luggage.
One of the selling points of plastic lasers is that they're expected to be relatively low cost, as polyfluorene is widely available, added the scientist.
Lasers could 'sense' vapours released by explosives
UK scientists claim to have developed laser technology able to sense hidden explosives.
The technology could help to detect landmines and roadside bombs and to improve airport security.
The team from University of St Andrews produced a laser by "pumping" a type of plastic called polyfluorene with photons from another light source.
They found the laser reacted with vapours from explosives such as TNT.
The work was published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
Graham Turnbull, a physicist at the University of St Andrew's in Fife, UK, is one of the authors of the study.
He explained that the researchers created a mechanism able to sense TNT-like molecules frequently used in explosives at extremely low concentrations - less than 10 parts per billion.
"Floating above a landmine in Iraq or Afghanistan, there's a very weak, dilute cloud of vapours of explosive molecules that the bomb is made from," said the Dr Turnbull.
Continue reading the main story
"A small number of these TNT-like molecules comes into contact with a plastic film that the laser is (produced) from, interacts with the light-emitting molecules in the laser and switches off the light emission."
The scientist explained that this interaction of TNT-like molecules with the polymer chain provides a totally new way to stop the laser from working.
Ifor Samuel, Dr Turnbull's colleague and a co-athor of the study, said that once developed, such mechanisms could sense any kind of explosive device - including roadside bombs - a major issue in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"This technology is important because polymer lasers, since they're made of plastic, could be made very easily and because it's a very new property for a laser to have," he said.
The plastic laser approach could detect lower concentrations of explosive
This sort of technique has been looked at in the past. But this is the first time researchers have used a plastic laser, said Dr Turnbull.
This allows the detection of much lower concentrations of explosive vapours, he added.
The scientist believes that one of the ways to use this type of laser would be to have it on a robotic, perhaps remotely controlled, vehicle that would be able to "sniff around" in a mine field, looking for vapour clouds.
He also suggested using the system as a means to improve airport security, to detect explosive vapours coming from people's luggage.
One of the selling points of plastic lasers is that they're expected to be relatively low cost, as polyfluorene is widely available, added the scientist.
LETHALFORCE
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http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Army_Testing_Green_Laser_Kits_In_Afghanistan_999.html
Army Testing Green Laser Kits In Afghanistan
The Army's Program Executive Office Soldier is fielding several Green Laser Escalation of Force, or GLEF, kits to units in Afghanistan for operational assessment.
The GLEF systems are mounted as an accessory to Common Remotely Operated Weapon Stations or CROWS, the turret system that provides Soldiers the ability to employ cameras, sensors and weapons from inside the protection of an armored vehicle. The non-lethal green-light laser gives Soldiers an interim step before escalating force while conducting daily operations.
"Protecting civilian populations is critical to our success in fighting insurgencies," said Col. Douglas Tamilio, project manager for Soldier Weapons.
"Green lasers have proven safe and effective as a non-lethal tool that sends a strong message without the need to employ deadly force."
The GLEF system emits a wide band of green light that temporarily disrupts a person's vision so that driving a vehicle or aiming a weapon becomes difficult if not impossible. One application would be to warn civilians away from checkpoints and other areas where their safety is at risk. At closer distances, the lasers provide an immediate, nonlethal capability to deter aggressive actions.
"The human eye is four times more sensitive to green light than to red light during the day and far more sensitive at night," explained Maj. Michael Pottratz, program manager for Crew Served Weapons.
"The effect is the same as looking at the sun for a fraction of a second. The lasers send a warning signal across language and cultural barriers to keep innocent people from entering into harm's way."
While green lasers have been commercially available for a number of years, the system configuration for use as a CROWS accessory is a new development. By employing previously tested and approved technologies, engineers were able to design, assemble and field the new configuration for use in CROWS systems in less than 12 months.
Select units will test the systems for 90 days and report back to PEO Soldier on system performance and its impact on operations. Soldier input will be incorporated into the final designs.
Army Testing Green Laser Kits In Afghanistan
The Army's Program Executive Office Soldier is fielding several Green Laser Escalation of Force, or GLEF, kits to units in Afghanistan for operational assessment.
The GLEF systems are mounted as an accessory to Common Remotely Operated Weapon Stations or CROWS, the turret system that provides Soldiers the ability to employ cameras, sensors and weapons from inside the protection of an armored vehicle. The non-lethal green-light laser gives Soldiers an interim step before escalating force while conducting daily operations.
"Protecting civilian populations is critical to our success in fighting insurgencies," said Col. Douglas Tamilio, project manager for Soldier Weapons.
"Green lasers have proven safe and effective as a non-lethal tool that sends a strong message without the need to employ deadly force."
The GLEF system emits a wide band of green light that temporarily disrupts a person's vision so that driving a vehicle or aiming a weapon becomes difficult if not impossible. One application would be to warn civilians away from checkpoints and other areas where their safety is at risk. At closer distances, the lasers provide an immediate, nonlethal capability to deter aggressive actions.
"The human eye is four times more sensitive to green light than to red light during the day and far more sensitive at night," explained Maj. Michael Pottratz, program manager for Crew Served Weapons.
"The effect is the same as looking at the sun for a fraction of a second. The lasers send a warning signal across language and cultural barriers to keep innocent people from entering into harm's way."
While green lasers have been commercially available for a number of years, the system configuration for use as a CROWS accessory is a new development. By employing previously tested and approved technologies, engineers were able to design, assemble and field the new configuration for use in CROWS systems in less than 12 months.
Select units will test the systems for 90 days and report back to PEO Soldier on system performance and its impact on operations. Soldier input will be incorporated into the final designs.
nrj
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Laser weapons development is pushing laser technology out of the laboratory and into directed-energy weapons applications in the field
Light sabers and blasters in Star Wars, phasers on Star Trek, the heat-ray in H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds, and rayguns and death rays in myriad films from the 1960s and 1970s. The phrase "laser weapon" most often conjures images of these and other fictional, futuristic devices. In reality, laser weapons are currently undergoing testing and likely to be fielded in the very near future.
Military lasers enjoy a long history in laser rangefinder, laser radar (ladar), laser target designator, and even laser countermeasures applications. Much work is now being done in the area of laser weaponry, but "the broad use of military laser technology has been as sensors and ways of communicating information across a distance," acknowledges Daniel Nieuwsma, senior principle physicist of the Optics and Lasers Department at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems in El Segundo, Calif. (See related story, Latest generation of laser weapons confronts systems designers with formidable thermal management and cooling issues)
Mil-aero use
"The benefits of lasers relate to the ways that they are employed," says Bob Byren, principal engineering fellow, EO/IR & Laser Technology Area Director, SAS Engineering, Raytheon. "Laser beams by their nature are highly collimated, which means they allow energy to be transmitted over long distances through a small aperture with very little angular dispersion." This property is used in all military laser applications, such as laser rangefinders and designators. "You've got to put a small spot on a target at a long distance--that's the chief property of lasers that makes it so useful.
"Laser beams are also monochromatic, which means they come out in a single color," Byren adds, "and that's very useful in many applications, such as laser radar, that allow you to filter out the noise from solar-reflected energy which would otherwise compete with a laser beam." That monochromatic property also enables the measurement of narrow absorption lines in chemicals, delivering the ability to distinguish chemical clouds and biological agents from naturally occurring phenomena.
"Laser beams can be modulated either as pulses or as a form of coherent modulation, which makes them useful for communications and many forms of laser radar, such as 3D imaging and vibrometry," Byren notes. "Lasers are also capable of projecting a lot of power, which makes them useful for weapons in their own right."
Golden anniversary
The first working laser was built on 16 May 1960--50 years ago last month. Theodore Maiman produced the innovation at Hughes Research Laboratory, the research arm of Hughes Aircraft Company, founded by Howard Hughes in Culver City, Calif. Maiman's laser was not publicly announced until 7 July 1960, when it reportedly caused great concern and prompted headlines about potential death rays. Public predictions were not terribly far off the mark, and lasers were soon employed in battle -- but they were hardly "death rays."
Engineers in "the defense part of Hughes Aircraft immediately found [the laser] useful as a very precise rangefinder, and started building the first laser rangefinder in 1961 and 1962," Nieuwsma adds. A large number of projects related to laser sensors and rangefinders followed, and by 1967 the company started the first military-qualified laser in production: a rangefinder for the M60A2 main battle tank.
Laser-guided weapons were first developed in the United States in the early 1960s. The U.S. Air Force issued the first development contracts in 1964, which lead to the development of the Paveway series of laser-guided bombs (LGBs). Texas Instruments, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin were involved in the production of LGBs. "Raytheon Company introduced the first laser-guided precision munition operating during the Vietnam War" in the late 1960s, according to a company spokesperson.
"The Hughes legacy went on, and in 1968 built the first laser target designator for the Army," Nieuwsma explains. "It was a test item--a laser that sends out a code of pulses reflected off a target, so that laser homing munitions, such as missiles or bombs, can home in very precisely on that target." The technology was of great benefit in both Gulf wars, he says. "We were able to take out an anti-aircraft gun put next to a school or a hospital, for example; we wouldn't hurt the school or hospital because we could very precisely target it against only the military item."
More milestones
Prime contractors, research labs, and academia continue to advance laser technologies, especially in the realm of laser weaponry. Several laser weapon milestones have occurred this year alone (specifically, between January and April of 2010).
Three heavyweights -- Boeing Defense, Space & Security in Berkeley, Mo.; Northrop Grumman Corp. in Redondo Beach, Calif.; and Lockheed Martin in Bethesda, Md. -- began collaborating on the Airborne Laser program for the U.S. Air Force in 1996. In 2001, it was converted to an acquisition program under the Missile Defense Agency (MDA).
Each member of the Boeing ABL team contributed a different facet of what is now the Airborne Laser Test Bed (ALTB), which on 11 February 2010 applied a lethal amount of directed energy to destroy a boosting ballistic missile target, or tactical ballistic missile (TBM). The proof-of-concept demonstration marked the first directed-energy lethal intercept demonstration against a liquid-fuel boosting ballistic missile target from an airborne platform.
"While ballistic missiles like the one ALTB destroyed move at speeds of about 4,000 miles per hour (mph), they are no match for a super-heated, high-energy laser beam racing towards it at 670 million mph," a Northrop Grumman official says of the landmark event. "The basketball-sized beam was focused on the foreign military asset, as the missile is called officially, for only a few seconds before a stress fracture developed, causing the target to catastrophically split into multiple pieces."
ABL construction
Two solid-state lasers and one high-energy, chemical laser housed in a modified Boeing 747-400F, in addition to various avionics and electro-optics, comprise the ALTB. The back-half of the Boeing Freighter encloses Northrop Grumman's high-energy, megawatt-class Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) –being called the most powerful laser ever developed for an airborne environment. Northrop Grumman also contributed the low-power, kilowatt-class, solid-state Beacon Illuminator Laser for atmospheric compensation and targeting. The front section of the aircraft contains the battle management system, provided by Boeing, and the beam control/fire control system, developed by Lockheed Martin.
Raytheon developed for Lockheed Martin the Track Illuminator Laser (TILL), the first diode-pumped Yb:YAG (ytterbian yttrium aluminum garnet) laser qualified for flight operation aboard a military aircraft. "[It] allows the system to track the hard body of the missile and not be confused by the very bright plume that the rocket engine puts out," says Raytheon's Byren. "It was the first fielded ytterbian laser in military applications." Onyx Optics Inc. in Dublin, Calif., supplied the laser gain medium and diffusion bonding to Raytheon, whereas Scientific Materials Corp. in Bozeman, Mont., provided the Yb:YAG rod for that system.
"The continued dependable and consistent performance of both laser systems is the result of our dedicated team and its unwavering commitment to develop game-changing technology for our military forces," says Guy Renard, Northrop Grumman's ALTB program manager. "The impressive progress made by the government and industry team during the last three-and-a-half years could not have culminated any more dramatically than this successful experiment."
The test, conducted by Boeing and the MDA, impressed many high-level military and government officials. The Air Force's fiscal 2010 budget does not allot funding for further Airborne Laser research and development, however; the U.S. military still has money to pursue the research of directed-energy laser weapons.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, who witnessed the shootdown first-hand, called it a "magnificent technical achievement" but said the Airborne Laser "does not reflect something that is operationally viable." When questioned about the future of directed-energy lasers, Schwartz responded in favor of solid-state, rather than chemical, lasers. "That's the queen of the realm, sir."
Solid-state successes
"I think the industry is moving away from chemical lasers because of the toxicity, corrosion, and problems with logistics support. The current push now is to use solid-state lasers to achieve very high powers," explains Byren of Raytheon, which is now exclusively a solid-state laser house.
Accelerating the development and advancement of solid-state laser technology for military applications is the Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) program, currently in Phase 3. Engineers from Northrop Grumman and Textron Defense Systems in Wilmington, Mass., are working on the current phase of the JHPSSL, which is funded by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology; Office of the Secretary of Defense – High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office, Albuquerque, N.M.; Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.; and the Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va.
Under the JHPSSL program, Northrop Grumman surpassed a critical milestone (in Phase 2) when it demonstrated a laser system with a total power of greater than 27 kilowatts (kW) with a run time of 350 seconds; and, it became the first company to reach the 100kW power level threshold for a solid-state laser. The latter achievement also included a turn-on time of less than one second and continuous operating time of greater than five minutes with good efficiency and beam quality.
Under the current phase (Phase 3), says a representative, the goal is for a laser system to reach 100 kW, setting the stage for a variety of force protection and strike missions, such as shipboard defense against cruise missiles; wide-area, ground-based defense against rockets, artillery, and mortars; and precision strike missions for airborne platforms.
Northrop Grumman's solid-state laser system -- which produced the most powerful beam ever from a continuous wave, electric laser in 2009 -- is slated to enter field tests this year at the Army's High Energy Laser System Test Facility (HELSTF), N.M. BAE Systems, in cooperation with the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, has contracted with Northrop Grumman to relocate the Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) Phase 3 system from the company's laser factory in Redondo Beach, Calif., to HELSTF.
At HELSTF, this laser will integrate with the beam control and command and control systems from the Northrop Grumman-built Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL), to provide the Army with the world's first high-power, Solid State Laser Testbed Experiment (SSLTE). The SSLTE will be used to evaluate the capability of a 100kW-class, solid-state laser to accomplish various missions; the results will be the basis for directing future development of solid-state lasers as a weapon system, reveals a Northrop Grumman representative.
"Solid-state lasers have achieved militarily useful power levels and packaging densities," admits Dan Wildt, vice president of Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector. "We have been demonstrating laser performance at HELSTF and other test sites for many years, unequivocally proving their lethality against a wide variety of potential threats." Among them are missiles of various sizes and speeds, helicopters, drones, rockets, artillery, mortar rounds, and submunitions.
BAE Systems, headquartered in Rockville, Md. and under contract with the U.S. Army, has overall responsibility for the SSLTE systems engineering and test planning, as well as the development of the modular, transportable enclosure housing for the JHPSSL device and its control room at the site.
Free electron design
Engineers at The Boeing Company -- specifically, The Boeing Missile Defense Systems Directed Energy Systems unit in Albuquerque, N.M., and the Boeing Research & Technology group in Seattle -- have completed the preliminary design of the U.S. Navy's Free Electron Laser (FEL) weapon system. The achievement is being called "a key step toward building an FEL prototype for realistic tests at sea."
The electric laser passes a beam of high-energy electrons through powerful magnetic fields, generating an intense emission of laser light that can disable or destroy targets, reveals a company official. In April 2009, Boeing won an initial $6.9 million, Office of Naval Research task order to begin developing FEL. Boeing has partnered with U.S. Department of Energy laboratories, academia, and industry partners to design the laser.
The project could potentially reach $163 million, if the Navy awards Boeing additional task orders this summer to complete the FEL design and build a functional laboratory demonstrator.
Vehicle-borne laser
Boeing engineers are outfitting a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) from Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corp. in Oshkosh, Wis., with a Boeing-built laser beam control system for the U.S. Army's High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (HEL TD) program.
"This demonstration program has transitioned from the design phase to the fabrication phase," acknowledges Gary Fitzmire, vice president and program director of Boeing Missile Defense Systems' Directed Energy Systems unit. "This transformational, solid-state laser weapon capability will provide speed-of-light, ultra-precision capability that will dramatically improve warfighters' ability to counter rocket, artillery and mortar projectiles."
The eight-wheel, 500-horsepower HEMTT A4 military tactical vehicle is being integrated with the laser's rugged beam control system (BCS) at Boeing's Huntsville, Ala., facility. The BCS is designed to acquire, track, and select an aim point on a target; the system will simultaneously receive the laser beam from the laser device, reshape and align it, and focus it on the target using mirrors, high-speed processors, and optical sensors.
"The program is making great progress and getting closer to demonstrating its revolutionary capability," observes Blaine Beardsley, Boeing HEL TD program manager. In fact, the HEL TD is scheduled to be tested against real targets, using a low-power surrogate for the high-energy laser, in fiscal year 2011 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
Paveway longevity
The Paveway legacy lives on with Lockheed Martin's Paveway II Plus laser-guided bomb, which completed a series of six flight tests at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., on 3 March 2010. The "Plus" model sports an enhanced laser guidance package, designed to improve precision over Paveway II LGBs.
During the tests, Paveway II Plus systems were launched from altitudes ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 feet against a 24-by-24-foot billboard target at a 45-degree angle. "Two [Guided Bomb Unit] GBU-10s and four GBU-12s equipped with MAU-209C/B computer control groups were released from a pair of F-16D Viper jet aircraft from Eglin's 40th Flight Test Squadron," explains a Lockheed Martin spokesperson. "Each initiated laser acquisition at the expected time and guided to the intended target."
Paveway II laser-guided bomb guidance kits increase weapon accuracy, reducing risk to U.S. and allied ground forces by converting gravity weapons into precision-guided munitions. A computer control group serves as the LGBs front-end guidance system, while an air foil group with stability fins on the back of each weapon delivers lift and aerodynamic stability for in-flight maneuvering.
Lockheed Martin is a provider of the Paveway II LGB and all three variants of the Paveway II MK-80 series LGBs; is the sole provider of the Paveway II Enhanced Laser Guided Training Round and Dual Mode Laser Guided Bomb; and has delivered more than 55,000 LGB kits to the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and international customers.
Mine detection
Northrop Grumman delivered, by 11 March 2010 and roughly three weeks ahead of schedule, all Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) lot 2 Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) pods to the U.S. Navy.
ALMDS, mounted on the side of an MH-60 helicopter, detects and locates floating and submerged mines, which pose a threat to U.S. and allied military and commercial ships. In day or night, the system uses pulsed laser light and streak tube receivers in an external equipment pod to image the near-surface volume area of the sea in 3D. The ALMDS is capable of operations.
ALMDS will be coupled with Northrop Grumman's RAMICS, now in development. RAMICS, also operating from an MH-60S helicopter, will use the mine location information from ALMDS, relocate the mine, and neutralize it with a 30-millimeter gun. Both systems are part of the Mine Counter Measures (MCM) Mission Package to be deployed on Littoral Combat Ships. Northrop Grumman also serves as LCS Mission Package Integrator for the Navy.
Northrop Grumman engineers, who produce the ALMDS at the company's Melbourne, Fla., facility, achieved the early deliveries with the teamwork of Naval Sea Systems Command PMS 495; the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla.; and the Defense Contracts Management Agency; as well as Areté Associates, Tucson, Ariz., which manufactures the Receiver Sensor Assembly; Cutting Edge Optronics, a Northrop Grumman subsidiary in St. Charles, Mo., which manufactures the high-powered laser transmitter; CPI Aero, Edgewood, N.Y., manufacturer of the pod housing; Curtiss Wright/DY4, San Diego, manufacturer of the central electronics chassis; and Meggitt Defense Systems, Irvine, Calif., which produces the environmental control system.
Northrop Grumman's Melbourne facility, the company's Center of Excellence for Airborne Mine Countermeasures, is under contract to develop the U.S. Department of Defense's four Airborne Mine Countermeasures sensor programs.
"The Northrop Grumman contractor team and our Navy partners are working hard to get these systems into the fleet as quickly as possible," says Dan Chang, vice president of Northrop Grumman Maritime and Tactical Systems. "ALMDS and the Rapid Airborne Mine Clearance System (RAMICS) are critical tools with demonstrated technologies for getting our warfighters out of minefields. These two programs are key to the fielding of the entire mine detection and destruction capability to our warfighters."
Laser reflections
The military has long reaped the benefits of laser rangefinders, target designators, and sensors on the battlefield. "They want to provide that to almost every platform and every soldier," says Nieuwsma. "They are looking to decrease the size, weight, and power (SWaP) so they can run on cell phone-style batteries. SWaP is the big push on the targeting end of lasers and we're working some advanced concepts with planar waveguide lasers to make very compact lasers to fill that niche for the military."
Compact and efficient, lasers are well suited to achieving SWaP goals. "Affordability is another big issue," says Byren. "The planar waveguide laser architecture, it turns out, is amenable to many different military applications: from the low-end, which includes laser rangefinders, all the way up to the high-end, directed-energy weapons.
Cooling is another major factor to consider in the design of modern, high-energy laser systems. "Advanced cooling technology is one of the gate keepers to deploying a high-energy laser on a small tactical aircraft," explains Dr. Dan Rini, president of RINI Technologies in Oviedo, Fla. Without adequate cooling, the laser just won't function: efficiency is lost, wavelengths are incorrect, and it can catastrophically fail.
"Standard cooling techniques work great in the lab," Rini continues, "but they don't necessarily transition well to military environments. You need advanced cooling techniques to make [laser systems] lighter and smaller."
Many technology firms are also working to advance ladar, or laser radar, for mil-aero applications. Raytheon is involved in a program called SALTI, Synthetic Aperture Ladar for Tactical Imaging. "It is the first successful application of synthetic aperture radar techniques to optical frequencies," Byren enthuses. "It's a very difficult job, and it was done successfully."
A true space-qualified laser, able to withstand the rigors of space for long periods, is another unanswered need. "Right now, there are some lasers in space, but typically lasers have problems in the absence of atmosphere and gravity, and in high radiation fields," Nieuwsma says. "Lasers that have been in space for NASA and others have had short lifetimes, shorter than desired."
"The lack of atmosphere is an issue because of potential for outgassing of contaminants. Radiation is an issue, and which orbital plane you're in determines how much radiation the system has to withstand. And the fact that you can't get up there and maintain a laser in space is a big deal," Byren admits, "it really has to be reliable and redundant in many ways."
Gravity is yet another challenge. "It is amazing how many subtle things depend on the presence of gravity," Nieuwsma says, "and you find out when you try and work without it."
Source
LETHALFORCE
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http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/S..._Systems_Team_Created_in_Albuquerque_999.html
Single Directed Energy Systems Team Created in Albuquerque
The Boeing Company has announced that it is combining its Airborne Laser Test Bed (ALTB) and Directed Energy organizations into a single Directed Energy Systems team based in Albuquerque. The consolidation is designed to further the development and execution of breakthrough directed-energy systems for Boeing's military customers.
"Consolidating the proven laser-application expertise of the Airborne Laser team with the exciting new innovations pursued by our Directed Energy organization will focus our efforts on developing and applying laser technologies to deliver breakthrough products and systems for our customers today and tomorrow," said Greg Hyslop, vice president and general manager of Boeing Strategic Missile and Defense Systems.
"Our new Directed Energy Systems team will ensure Boeing leadership and growth in this critical market area."
Mike Rinn, currently vice president and program director for ALTB, will lead the new organization and be based at the Directed Energy Systems team's headquarters in Albuquerque, where many of Boeing's directed-energy customers are located. Rich Flanders will replace Rinn as ALTB program director.
"Mike's leadership will help us take advantage of the unique innovations we've demonstrated on the Airborne Laser and apply them to our other directed-energy programs and technologies," Hyslop said. "He also will lead our efforts in pursuing new opportunities to expand the Airborne Laser's role in demonstrating new laser technologies."
The ALTB team made history in February when it engaged and destroyed a ballistic missile in its boost phase, successfully demonstrating the speed, precision and breakthrough potential of directed-energy weapons.
The test marked the first time a laser system has engaged and destroyed an in-flight ballistic missile and the first time that any system has accomplished it in the missile's boost phase of flight. ALTB has the highest-energy laser ever fired from an aircraft and is the most powerful mobile laser device in the world.
The Directed Energy Systems unit is developing advanced laser concepts and systems to address multiple defense requirements.
Development efforts include the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator for the U.S. Army; the U.S. Navy Free Electron Laser weapon system, which recently completed its preliminary design review; and Laser Avenger, a company-funded program that integrates a laser on a mobile truck platform.
Laser Avenger has proven its ability to destroy improvised explosive devices, unexploded ordnance and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Single Directed Energy Systems Team Created in Albuquerque
The Boeing Company has announced that it is combining its Airborne Laser Test Bed (ALTB) and Directed Energy organizations into a single Directed Energy Systems team based in Albuquerque. The consolidation is designed to further the development and execution of breakthrough directed-energy systems for Boeing's military customers.
"Consolidating the proven laser-application expertise of the Airborne Laser team with the exciting new innovations pursued by our Directed Energy organization will focus our efforts on developing and applying laser technologies to deliver breakthrough products and systems for our customers today and tomorrow," said Greg Hyslop, vice president and general manager of Boeing Strategic Missile and Defense Systems.
"Our new Directed Energy Systems team will ensure Boeing leadership and growth in this critical market area."
Mike Rinn, currently vice president and program director for ALTB, will lead the new organization and be based at the Directed Energy Systems team's headquarters in Albuquerque, where many of Boeing's directed-energy customers are located. Rich Flanders will replace Rinn as ALTB program director.
"Mike's leadership will help us take advantage of the unique innovations we've demonstrated on the Airborne Laser and apply them to our other directed-energy programs and technologies," Hyslop said. "He also will lead our efforts in pursuing new opportunities to expand the Airborne Laser's role in demonstrating new laser technologies."
The ALTB team made history in February when it engaged and destroyed a ballistic missile in its boost phase, successfully demonstrating the speed, precision and breakthrough potential of directed-energy weapons.
The test marked the first time a laser system has engaged and destroyed an in-flight ballistic missile and the first time that any system has accomplished it in the missile's boost phase of flight. ALTB has the highest-energy laser ever fired from an aircraft and is the most powerful mobile laser device in the world.
The Directed Energy Systems unit is developing advanced laser concepts and systems to address multiple defense requirements.
Development efforts include the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator for the U.S. Army; the U.S. Navy Free Electron Laser weapon system, which recently completed its preliminary design review; and Laser Avenger, a company-funded program that integrates a laser on a mobile truck platform.
Laser Avenger has proven its ability to destroy improvised explosive devices, unexploded ordnance and unmanned aerial vehicles.
nrj
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Sagem Launches Vertical-attack Laser AASM
Announced last week was the first successful test of the 250-kilogram laser-guided version of Sagem's AASM modular weapon. The laser AASM was launched from a Rafale and hit a target at the Biscarrosse range 25 kilometers away.
Sagem's Armement Air-Sol Modulaire series provides inertial, GPS, infrared and now laser guidance options. The laser AASM is the first weapon in this class to offer vertical attack capability. (DGA)
AASM versions already qualified are the basic inertial/GPS guided bomb, and a version that adds imaging infrared. With a laser seeker replacing the infrared, the new version gives one-meter accuracy, and incorporates advanced algorithms that allow the weapon to attack its target with a vertical trajectory in the terminal phase.
The benefits of attacking from directly above are full control of the impact parameters and reduced collateral damage compared to slant attacks.
Source
Announced last week was the first successful test of the 250-kilogram laser-guided version of Sagem's AASM modular weapon. The laser AASM was launched from a Rafale and hit a target at the Biscarrosse range 25 kilometers away.
Sagem's Armement Air-Sol Modulaire series provides inertial, GPS, infrared and now laser guidance options. The laser AASM is the first weapon in this class to offer vertical attack capability. (DGA)
AASM versions already qualified are the basic inertial/GPS guided bomb, and a version that adds imaging infrared. With a laser seeker replacing the infrared, the new version gives one-meter accuracy, and incorporates advanced algorithms that allow the weapon to attack its target with a vertical trajectory in the terminal phase.
The benefits of attacking from directly above are full control of the impact parameters and reduced collateral damage compared to slant attacks.
Source
LETHALFORCE
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http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Truck-borne_laser_weapon_to_be_on_way_soon_999.html
Truck-borne laser weapon to be on way soon
A powerful laser weapon that can fit on a light truck is set to be the military's answer to the dilemma of overreacting to enemy attack and harming friendly forces in the process.
The laser-beam weapon, being developed by the U.S. Army and Boeing, is seen to be a more focused alternative to artillery or rocket response to enemy action that usually results in innocent civilians or friendly forces being caught up in the onslaught.
Death and injury among third-party individuals near or around a scene of battle is one of the classic scenarios that carries with it acute embarrassment -- or worse -- for both military leaders and politicians. The new laser weapon being developed aims to avoid, if not completely eliminate, that eventuality.
The High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator system will consist of a laser weapon system mounted on an Oshkosh Defense military truck. Traveling at the speed of light the laser beam will hit targets with unprecedented swiftness. And no bullets will rain down on anyone in the process, says Boeing's Marc Selinger in an article on the innovation.
"This transformational, ultra-precision capability will dramatically improve warfighters' ability to counter rocket, artillery and mortar projectiles," said Michael Rinn, vice president of Boeing Directed Energy Systems.
Under contract to the Army, Boeing in 2009 completed the design of a laser beam control system on a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck, a widely used eight-wheel, 500-horsepower military vehicle built by Oshkosh Defense in Oshkosh, Wis. The truck will be shipped to Boeing's facility in Huntsville, Ala., this summer for integration with the BCS.
An artist's rendering depicts the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator. A key "subassembly" of the BCS is the beam director, a dome-shaped turret that will extend above the roof of the vehicle when it engages targets. The beam director, which can rotate 360 degrees, will contain a set of mirrors that point and focus the beam. Other BCS subassemblies will focus the laser beam and transfer it from the laser to the beam director. The BCS also will find and track targets.
HEL TD testing against real targets but using a low-power "surrogate" for the high-energy laser, is scheduled for fiscal year 2011 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The tests are meant to demonstrate the ability to target and engage moving projectiles with the HEL TD system. The truck will later be equipped with a high-energy laser that can destroy those targets, Boeing said.
"These efforts could pave the way for further development of the technology -- and ultimately deployment on the battlefield," said Bill Gnacek, the U.S. Army's HEL TD program manager. "Our main goal is to transition this HEL TD technology into a formal acquisition program and eventually place it in the hands of Army commanders, providing them an effective, lethal capability to counter rocket, artillery and mortar projectiles."
Truck-borne laser weapon to be on way soon
A powerful laser weapon that can fit on a light truck is set to be the military's answer to the dilemma of overreacting to enemy attack and harming friendly forces in the process.
The laser-beam weapon, being developed by the U.S. Army and Boeing, is seen to be a more focused alternative to artillery or rocket response to enemy action that usually results in innocent civilians or friendly forces being caught up in the onslaught.
Death and injury among third-party individuals near or around a scene of battle is one of the classic scenarios that carries with it acute embarrassment -- or worse -- for both military leaders and politicians. The new laser weapon being developed aims to avoid, if not completely eliminate, that eventuality.
The High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator system will consist of a laser weapon system mounted on an Oshkosh Defense military truck. Traveling at the speed of light the laser beam will hit targets with unprecedented swiftness. And no bullets will rain down on anyone in the process, says Boeing's Marc Selinger in an article on the innovation.
"This transformational, ultra-precision capability will dramatically improve warfighters' ability to counter rocket, artillery and mortar projectiles," said Michael Rinn, vice president of Boeing Directed Energy Systems.
Under contract to the Army, Boeing in 2009 completed the design of a laser beam control system on a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck, a widely used eight-wheel, 500-horsepower military vehicle built by Oshkosh Defense in Oshkosh, Wis. The truck will be shipped to Boeing's facility in Huntsville, Ala., this summer for integration with the BCS.
An artist's rendering depicts the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator. A key "subassembly" of the BCS is the beam director, a dome-shaped turret that will extend above the roof of the vehicle when it engages targets. The beam director, which can rotate 360 degrees, will contain a set of mirrors that point and focus the beam. Other BCS subassemblies will focus the laser beam and transfer it from the laser to the beam director. The BCS also will find and track targets.
HEL TD testing against real targets but using a low-power "surrogate" for the high-energy laser, is scheduled for fiscal year 2011 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The tests are meant to demonstrate the ability to target and engage moving projectiles with the HEL TD system. The truck will later be equipped with a high-energy laser that can destroy those targets, Boeing said.
"These efforts could pave the way for further development of the technology -- and ultimately deployment on the battlefield," said Bill Gnacek, the U.S. Army's HEL TD program manager. "Our main goal is to transition this HEL TD technology into a formal acquisition program and eventually place it in the hands of Army commanders, providing them an effective, lethal capability to counter rocket, artillery and mortar projectiles."
nrj
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Navy Aiming for Laser Weapons at Sea
Military forces have been aspiring to fight at the speed of light ever since lasers were developed 60 years ago. So far, the services have succeeded in fielding lasers for targeting and other nonlethal purposes. These are helpful tools for troops on the battlefield, but far short of technologists' desire of shooting down missiles, rockets, artillery and mortar rounds with destructive light energy beams.
Harnessing high-powered lasers in a deployable weapon system has remained an elusive endeavor outside of laboratory experiments and prototyping efforts. Scientists have struggled with the paradoxical challenges of making lasers small and hardy, yet powerful enough to destroy targets in seconds. Solutions are slowly forthcoming, but patience is running low for defense officials who want to start seeing results in operational settings.
The Navy expects to incorporate lasers onto most ship classes in its surface fleet, including amphibious ships, cruisers and destroyers. "The continuing goal is to deploy ships with an appropriate weapons mix, possibly one day including directed energy weapons, to engage and defeat any potential adversary across the spectrum of naval warfare," said Rear Adm. Frank Pandolfe, director of surface warfare on the Navy staff.
Experts believe that of all the services the Navy holds the most promise for helping directed energy weapons become operationally viable systems in the near future. Its warships can provide adequate spaces for hosting the current generation of power-hungry and coolant-needy lasers.
Armed with guns and missiles, the Navy's surface ships can defend themselves from current airborne and surface threats. But officials have been pushing research and development programs in directed energy in hopes of yielding future weapons to bolster ship defenses against new threats including high-speed boats and unmanned aircraft. Those efforts have blossomed into prototypes that are being tested this year.
The Naval Sea Systems Command in May demonstrated the feasibility of using commercial fiber lasers to knock down small unmanned aircraft from the sky. This fall, the Office of Naval Research plans to demonstrate a high-energy laser weapon system prototype at sea for the first time. If that demonstration proves successful at destroying a high-speed boat target, then Navy officials could decide to procure a system and become the first service to incorporate high-powered lasers into its weapon inventory.
Long the darlings of research laboratories and widely used in manufacturing, medicine and forensics, lasers come in a variety of wavelengths and power levels. The methods for creating and propagating those beams are often not conducive to operation in war zone environments. But recent advances in electric laser technologies are opening up some possibilities.
Lasers are generated inside a reflective optical cavity by passing light energy multiple times through a gain medium — a material in gas, liquid, solid or plasma state — which amplifies the light. Solid-state lasers rely on gain mediums comprising crystals that are "doped" with ions to help excite light particles to higher energy states.
A team from Northrop Grumman Corp. is developing a solid-state laser system for the Office of Naval Research's maritime laser demonstration program. Powered by electricity, the system sends light through a series of microscope slide-shaped media of yttrium aluminum crystals doped with neodymium. The solid-state laser generates a 15-kilowatt beam, which is directed to the target by a set of optics designed to track the target, select an aim point and hold the beam on the aim point until the desired effect is achieved.
"It's like a high-powered sniper rifle, except with much more range," said ONR's Peter Morrison, program manager, naval air warfare and weapons department.
The laser is based upon the same technology that the Northrop Grumman team previously developed for the Defense Department's joint high-power solid-state laser program, said Dan Wildt, Northrop Grumman's vice president for directed energy systems. That program last year achieved a power level of more than 105 kilowatts — a first for solid-state lasers — and the minimum required for military weapon applications. The light ray was produced via seven laser "building blocks" — groups of 15-kilowatt laser beams that were combined into one.
For the maritime laser demonstration prototype, engineers are using an eighth chain that was built but not needed for the program's 105-kilowatt demonstration. More of the 15-kilowatt building blocks can be added to scale the maritime laser prototype power level up to address various threats, Wildt added.
The maritime laser's beam control technology is derived from the Defense Department's tactical high-energy laser program, a joint U.S.-Israeli effort that yielded a prototype that shot down a total of 46 rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds in flight. Pinpoint accuracy and the ability to tailor lethality to the target give the maritime laser weapon an advantage over its kinetic energy brethren, said Morrison.
Engineers beefed up the laser's optical mounts to operate in sea-state 3 environments and to survive in sea-state 5 conditions. Sea state is a scale that characterizes the frequency and height of waves. Sea-state 5 involves rough-looking waves that are eight to 13 feet tall.
The prototype in November will go to sea aboard a Navy vessel for demonstrations in the Pacific Ocean. It will shoot at small boat targets in a live-fire test area, officials said.
"This is really the first time we'll take a laser system into that realistic environment with realistic targets on a real Navy ship," said Morrison.
In a video from a previous test, the laser tracked a small boat target and maintained its crosshairs on the gunwale, or upper side edges of the vessel, at a distance of thousands of yards, Morrison pointed out.
"It's ready to operate in the maritime environment," said Wildt.
Engineers in June completed integration of the major hardware pieces. They are preparing the system for a land-based test that will fire at targets on the water prior to taking the laser to sea.
By 2016, the system could become an initial capability put onto Navy ships, said Morrison. "This is a pave-way program for Navy directed energy systems," he said. "We're definitely not talking megawatts of power, which we'll have in the future. We're not talking the most advanced [lasers] just coming out of the research labs. We're talking about advanced technology mature enough to go to that marine environment."
While developing the maritime laser, program officials looked at a large number of ship classes to evaluate whether such a system could be installed. "We found without exception that every ship class that we've looked at could accommodate an entry-level system based on this," said Wildt.
The entire laser comprises a space not much larger than a table and fits inside a standard shipping container. "We can put everything except for the beam director in an optimal spot on the ship," Wildt said. The beam director, which guides the high-energy laser onto a fine-point target, would have to be exposed to the outside environment. All of the other components can be stationed below deck.
The laser is designed to tie into the Navy's existing shipboard combat systems, where a single operator can control its operations. The operator needs specialized training, similar to the instruction that Navy crews receive for the MK 15 Phalanx close-in weapon system or the MK 45 lightweight gun. Sailors will be able to maintain the laser themselves. "It won't require a Ph.D. nuclear physicist right there babying it along," said Morrison.
Concurrently with the maritime laser demonstration, the Navy also is funding the development of another laser weapon system for potential shipboard use. Officials at Naval Sea Systems Command initiated a program to develop a weapon system based on commercial fiber laser technologies. Fiber lasers are solid-state lasers that rely on optic fibers as the gain medium.
Navy engineers in May used a system comprising six fiber lasers strung together to shoot down two unmanned aerial vehicles flying in the maritime environment at San Nicholas Island, Calif. The 100-kilowatt laser's electronics were integrated with the MK 15 Phalanx close-in weapon system, a 20mm rapid-fire gun found aboard most Navy ships.
The same laser last year shot down five UAVs during a test at China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center, Calif. The UAVs were made of carbon-fiber composites that are representative of the threat, said Capt. David Kiel, program manager for directed energy and electric weapons at Naval Sea Systems Command.
The existing low-fidelity prototype could be taken to sea by the end of 2012, or the program office could build a better prototype and take that to sea by 2014, said Kiel. If funding is secured in the Navy's 2012 budget, the program office could field an initial capability as early as 2017.
The Defense Department in decades past pursued lasers to destroy supersonic targets in flight. The Navy succeeded in shooting down such targets in experiments. But the technology failed to transition to a weapon program. Other efforts, such as the Air Force's pursuit of the megawatt-class airborne laser as an anti-missile capability aboard a 747 aircraft, have been under development for years. But that program was highly criticized and eventually came under fire by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who cut funding for a second prototype last year.
With the services under pressure to reduce spending, programs attempting to develop new weapon systems are falling under increased scrutiny. Budgetary experts warn that the Navy's maritime laser programs are no exception.
"In the present fiscal and economic climate, this is really not a propitious time for a major new weapons system like that," said Barry Watts, senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Laser weapons, he said, would be most effective against an enemy onslaught of precision weapons, such as guided missiles, rockets and mortars.
"Until something really nasty like that happens, it will be a lot of research and development and demonstrators," said Watts.
Navy officials contend that a laser weapon system could allow the service to buy fewer missiles and permit ships to access areas that may have been off-limits previously because of their traditional shipboard firepower.
In order for laser weapons to find their way onto ships, the technology has to be technically mature, affordable and fill a performance gap, said Stan Crow, business development director for directed energy at Northrop Grumman. "Maybe it's a perfect storm right now that we haven't had before, where all three of those criteria are in place," he said.
The maritime laser team believes that the at-sea testing will demonstrate the readiness of solid-state laser weapon systems to begin transitioning to the fleet.
"The Navy is not going to procure any system that is not operationally viable," said Pandolfe. Officials are closely watching the demonstrations and will be evaluating the capability of directed energy systems against operational requirements. Lasers would not supplant existing kinetic energy systems but instead would complement them, they said. The Navy has not made any decisions so far to put lasers aboard fleet units, but a study on the future of maritime directed energy weapon systems is ongoing.
In the meantime, work progresses on both maritime laser demonstration and the fiber laser. Though the two programs are being developed with the same goal in mind — to transition to the fleet — there is more of a collaborative spirit in play as they share systems, components and notes.
"We say that they're two different systems and two different options for the Navy," said Morrison.
Solid-state lasers are more powerful and have better beam quality than their fiber laser counterparts. But fiber-optic systems in the future ought to be cheaper, Morrison said. While the fiber laser is being integrated with an existing shipboard weapon system, the maritime laser is likely to remain a separate system unto itself. Keeping a laser weapon independent from the shipboard kinetic system has advantages, such as not having to contend with vibration, smoke and particulate issues from firing the gun, Morrison said. But integrating the fiber laser with the gun system will help introduce directed energy weapons to the fleet at a much lower cost, Kiel said.
One of the challenges for lasers is that they are notoriously power hungry and require cooling because so much of the energy is lost through heat. To run a laser typically requires about four to five times more energy than what the system emits as light. But increasing the efficiency to thirty to 45 percent is not outside the realm of possibility for directed energy systems, noted Morrison.
Most Navy ships can generate megawatts of electricity for powering various radar, electronic warfare and combat control systems and produce enough water to cool all of their systems.
Today's warships have enough power to support a 100-kilowatt laser, said Kiel. Any surface combatant large enough to accommodate the close-in weapon system could also carry the fiber laser, he added.
The Northrop Grumman team said that the maritime laser demonstration's design will accommodate upgrades to new solid-state laser technologies. If and when the Navy sets requirements, the team would use its scalable approach to determine the right number of laser chains to build to achieve adequate power levels.
Both laser teams remain optimistic about the prospects for directed energy weapons aboard ships.
"We believe it will pave the way for free electron laser, and a laser in every airplane someday," Kiel said.
Source
Military forces have been aspiring to fight at the speed of light ever since lasers were developed 60 years ago. So far, the services have succeeded in fielding lasers for targeting and other nonlethal purposes. These are helpful tools for troops on the battlefield, but far short of technologists' desire of shooting down missiles, rockets, artillery and mortar rounds with destructive light energy beams.
Harnessing high-powered lasers in a deployable weapon system has remained an elusive endeavor outside of laboratory experiments and prototyping efforts. Scientists have struggled with the paradoxical challenges of making lasers small and hardy, yet powerful enough to destroy targets in seconds. Solutions are slowly forthcoming, but patience is running low for defense officials who want to start seeing results in operational settings.
The Navy expects to incorporate lasers onto most ship classes in its surface fleet, including amphibious ships, cruisers and destroyers. "The continuing goal is to deploy ships with an appropriate weapons mix, possibly one day including directed energy weapons, to engage and defeat any potential adversary across the spectrum of naval warfare," said Rear Adm. Frank Pandolfe, director of surface warfare on the Navy staff.
Experts believe that of all the services the Navy holds the most promise for helping directed energy weapons become operationally viable systems in the near future. Its warships can provide adequate spaces for hosting the current generation of power-hungry and coolant-needy lasers.
Armed with guns and missiles, the Navy's surface ships can defend themselves from current airborne and surface threats. But officials have been pushing research and development programs in directed energy in hopes of yielding future weapons to bolster ship defenses against new threats including high-speed boats and unmanned aircraft. Those efforts have blossomed into prototypes that are being tested this year.
The Naval Sea Systems Command in May demonstrated the feasibility of using commercial fiber lasers to knock down small unmanned aircraft from the sky. This fall, the Office of Naval Research plans to demonstrate a high-energy laser weapon system prototype at sea for the first time. If that demonstration proves successful at destroying a high-speed boat target, then Navy officials could decide to procure a system and become the first service to incorporate high-powered lasers into its weapon inventory.
Long the darlings of research laboratories and widely used in manufacturing, medicine and forensics, lasers come in a variety of wavelengths and power levels. The methods for creating and propagating those beams are often not conducive to operation in war zone environments. But recent advances in electric laser technologies are opening up some possibilities.
Lasers are generated inside a reflective optical cavity by passing light energy multiple times through a gain medium — a material in gas, liquid, solid or plasma state — which amplifies the light. Solid-state lasers rely on gain mediums comprising crystals that are "doped" with ions to help excite light particles to higher energy states.
A team from Northrop Grumman Corp. is developing a solid-state laser system for the Office of Naval Research's maritime laser demonstration program. Powered by electricity, the system sends light through a series of microscope slide-shaped media of yttrium aluminum crystals doped with neodymium. The solid-state laser generates a 15-kilowatt beam, which is directed to the target by a set of optics designed to track the target, select an aim point and hold the beam on the aim point until the desired effect is achieved.
"It's like a high-powered sniper rifle, except with much more range," said ONR's Peter Morrison, program manager, naval air warfare and weapons department.
The laser is based upon the same technology that the Northrop Grumman team previously developed for the Defense Department's joint high-power solid-state laser program, said Dan Wildt, Northrop Grumman's vice president for directed energy systems. That program last year achieved a power level of more than 105 kilowatts — a first for solid-state lasers — and the minimum required for military weapon applications. The light ray was produced via seven laser "building blocks" — groups of 15-kilowatt laser beams that were combined into one.
For the maritime laser demonstration prototype, engineers are using an eighth chain that was built but not needed for the program's 105-kilowatt demonstration. More of the 15-kilowatt building blocks can be added to scale the maritime laser prototype power level up to address various threats, Wildt added.
The maritime laser's beam control technology is derived from the Defense Department's tactical high-energy laser program, a joint U.S.-Israeli effort that yielded a prototype that shot down a total of 46 rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds in flight. Pinpoint accuracy and the ability to tailor lethality to the target give the maritime laser weapon an advantage over its kinetic energy brethren, said Morrison.
Engineers beefed up the laser's optical mounts to operate in sea-state 3 environments and to survive in sea-state 5 conditions. Sea state is a scale that characterizes the frequency and height of waves. Sea-state 5 involves rough-looking waves that are eight to 13 feet tall.
The prototype in November will go to sea aboard a Navy vessel for demonstrations in the Pacific Ocean. It will shoot at small boat targets in a live-fire test area, officials said.
"This is really the first time we'll take a laser system into that realistic environment with realistic targets on a real Navy ship," said Morrison.
In a video from a previous test, the laser tracked a small boat target and maintained its crosshairs on the gunwale, or upper side edges of the vessel, at a distance of thousands of yards, Morrison pointed out.
"It's ready to operate in the maritime environment," said Wildt.
Engineers in June completed integration of the major hardware pieces. They are preparing the system for a land-based test that will fire at targets on the water prior to taking the laser to sea.
By 2016, the system could become an initial capability put onto Navy ships, said Morrison. "This is a pave-way program for Navy directed energy systems," he said. "We're definitely not talking megawatts of power, which we'll have in the future. We're not talking the most advanced [lasers] just coming out of the research labs. We're talking about advanced technology mature enough to go to that marine environment."
While developing the maritime laser, program officials looked at a large number of ship classes to evaluate whether such a system could be installed. "We found without exception that every ship class that we've looked at could accommodate an entry-level system based on this," said Wildt.
The entire laser comprises a space not much larger than a table and fits inside a standard shipping container. "We can put everything except for the beam director in an optimal spot on the ship," Wildt said. The beam director, which guides the high-energy laser onto a fine-point target, would have to be exposed to the outside environment. All of the other components can be stationed below deck.
The laser is designed to tie into the Navy's existing shipboard combat systems, where a single operator can control its operations. The operator needs specialized training, similar to the instruction that Navy crews receive for the MK 15 Phalanx close-in weapon system or the MK 45 lightweight gun. Sailors will be able to maintain the laser themselves. "It won't require a Ph.D. nuclear physicist right there babying it along," said Morrison.
Concurrently with the maritime laser demonstration, the Navy also is funding the development of another laser weapon system for potential shipboard use. Officials at Naval Sea Systems Command initiated a program to develop a weapon system based on commercial fiber laser technologies. Fiber lasers are solid-state lasers that rely on optic fibers as the gain medium.
Navy engineers in May used a system comprising six fiber lasers strung together to shoot down two unmanned aerial vehicles flying in the maritime environment at San Nicholas Island, Calif. The 100-kilowatt laser's electronics were integrated with the MK 15 Phalanx close-in weapon system, a 20mm rapid-fire gun found aboard most Navy ships.
The same laser last year shot down five UAVs during a test at China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center, Calif. The UAVs were made of carbon-fiber composites that are representative of the threat, said Capt. David Kiel, program manager for directed energy and electric weapons at Naval Sea Systems Command.
The existing low-fidelity prototype could be taken to sea by the end of 2012, or the program office could build a better prototype and take that to sea by 2014, said Kiel. If funding is secured in the Navy's 2012 budget, the program office could field an initial capability as early as 2017.
The Defense Department in decades past pursued lasers to destroy supersonic targets in flight. The Navy succeeded in shooting down such targets in experiments. But the technology failed to transition to a weapon program. Other efforts, such as the Air Force's pursuit of the megawatt-class airborne laser as an anti-missile capability aboard a 747 aircraft, have been under development for years. But that program was highly criticized and eventually came under fire by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who cut funding for a second prototype last year.
With the services under pressure to reduce spending, programs attempting to develop new weapon systems are falling under increased scrutiny. Budgetary experts warn that the Navy's maritime laser programs are no exception.
"In the present fiscal and economic climate, this is really not a propitious time for a major new weapons system like that," said Barry Watts, senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Laser weapons, he said, would be most effective against an enemy onslaught of precision weapons, such as guided missiles, rockets and mortars.
"Until something really nasty like that happens, it will be a lot of research and development and demonstrators," said Watts.
Navy officials contend that a laser weapon system could allow the service to buy fewer missiles and permit ships to access areas that may have been off-limits previously because of their traditional shipboard firepower.
In order for laser weapons to find their way onto ships, the technology has to be technically mature, affordable and fill a performance gap, said Stan Crow, business development director for directed energy at Northrop Grumman. "Maybe it's a perfect storm right now that we haven't had before, where all three of those criteria are in place," he said.
The maritime laser team believes that the at-sea testing will demonstrate the readiness of solid-state laser weapon systems to begin transitioning to the fleet.
"The Navy is not going to procure any system that is not operationally viable," said Pandolfe. Officials are closely watching the demonstrations and will be evaluating the capability of directed energy systems against operational requirements. Lasers would not supplant existing kinetic energy systems but instead would complement them, they said. The Navy has not made any decisions so far to put lasers aboard fleet units, but a study on the future of maritime directed energy weapon systems is ongoing.
In the meantime, work progresses on both maritime laser demonstration and the fiber laser. Though the two programs are being developed with the same goal in mind — to transition to the fleet — there is more of a collaborative spirit in play as they share systems, components and notes.
"We say that they're two different systems and two different options for the Navy," said Morrison.
Solid-state lasers are more powerful and have better beam quality than their fiber laser counterparts. But fiber-optic systems in the future ought to be cheaper, Morrison said. While the fiber laser is being integrated with an existing shipboard weapon system, the maritime laser is likely to remain a separate system unto itself. Keeping a laser weapon independent from the shipboard kinetic system has advantages, such as not having to contend with vibration, smoke and particulate issues from firing the gun, Morrison said. But integrating the fiber laser with the gun system will help introduce directed energy weapons to the fleet at a much lower cost, Kiel said.
One of the challenges for lasers is that they are notoriously power hungry and require cooling because so much of the energy is lost through heat. To run a laser typically requires about four to five times more energy than what the system emits as light. But increasing the efficiency to thirty to 45 percent is not outside the realm of possibility for directed energy systems, noted Morrison.
Most Navy ships can generate megawatts of electricity for powering various radar, electronic warfare and combat control systems and produce enough water to cool all of their systems.
Today's warships have enough power to support a 100-kilowatt laser, said Kiel. Any surface combatant large enough to accommodate the close-in weapon system could also carry the fiber laser, he added.
The Northrop Grumman team said that the maritime laser demonstration's design will accommodate upgrades to new solid-state laser technologies. If and when the Navy sets requirements, the team would use its scalable approach to determine the right number of laser chains to build to achieve adequate power levels.
Both laser teams remain optimistic about the prospects for directed energy weapons aboard ships.
"We believe it will pave the way for free electron laser, and a laser in every airplane someday," Kiel said.
Source
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Navy Looking at Lasers to Defend Ships From Enemy Aircraft
Lasers that typically are used in industrial welding could become important weapons to defeat enemy aircraft, officials say.
The Navy recently tested commercial welding lasers and has proven that the beams are capable of knocking small planes out of the sky.
Navy engineers last summer strung together six fiber lasers at China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center, Calif., and shot down five unmanned aerial vehicles at tactically relevant ranges, said Capt. David Kiel, program manager for directed energy and electric weapons at Naval Sea Systems Command.
The unmanned aircraft in the demonstration were made of carbon-fiber composites. Scientists lined up the lasers precisely in a method called "coherent beam combining" to fire on the targets, he said.
Another test was scheduled in May on St. Nicholas Island, Calif. This time it was in a maritime environment with the lasers' electronics integrated with the MK 15 Phalanx close-in weapons system, a 20mm rapid-fire gun found aboard most Navy ships.
"We believe we're clearly ready to be a program of record, to go out and integrate these commercial lasers and a beam director onto a close-in weapons system and be able to kill those tactically relevant UAVs for a nickel's worth of electricity per shot," Kiel said in an interview. The 100-kilowatt lasers have a wall plug efficiency of 25 percent, he added.
Aboard a ship, the beam director that focuses the light energy on the target would be placed on the side of the close-in weapons system, with the laser installed below deck. When the laser is not being used as a weapon, sailors could employ the beam director as a telescope to identify aircraft in the area, or to catch a fishing boat dropping mines in the water, said Kiel.
"I really think that's the capability that's going to be used 24/7," he said. "Sailors like to see things "¦ It would be a great situational awareness tool."
All of the Navy's ships today have enough power to support a 100-kilowatt laser, Kiel said. Any surface combatant large enough to accommodate the close-in weapons system could also carry the laser. If funding is approved to field the system, the team could put a high-fidelity prototype to sea by 2014 and commence production in the 2017 timeframe.
Source
Lasers that typically are used in industrial welding could become important weapons to defeat enemy aircraft, officials say.
The Navy recently tested commercial welding lasers and has proven that the beams are capable of knocking small planes out of the sky.
Navy engineers last summer strung together six fiber lasers at China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center, Calif., and shot down five unmanned aerial vehicles at tactically relevant ranges, said Capt. David Kiel, program manager for directed energy and electric weapons at Naval Sea Systems Command.
The unmanned aircraft in the demonstration were made of carbon-fiber composites. Scientists lined up the lasers precisely in a method called "coherent beam combining" to fire on the targets, he said.
Another test was scheduled in May on St. Nicholas Island, Calif. This time it was in a maritime environment with the lasers' electronics integrated with the MK 15 Phalanx close-in weapons system, a 20mm rapid-fire gun found aboard most Navy ships.
"We believe we're clearly ready to be a program of record, to go out and integrate these commercial lasers and a beam director onto a close-in weapons system and be able to kill those tactically relevant UAVs for a nickel's worth of electricity per shot," Kiel said in an interview. The 100-kilowatt lasers have a wall plug efficiency of 25 percent, he added.
Aboard a ship, the beam director that focuses the light energy on the target would be placed on the side of the close-in weapons system, with the laser installed below deck. When the laser is not being used as a weapon, sailors could employ the beam director as a telescope to identify aircraft in the area, or to catch a fishing boat dropping mines in the water, said Kiel.
"I really think that's the capability that's going to be used 24/7," he said. "Sailors like to see things "¦ It would be a great situational awareness tool."
All of the Navy's ships today have enough power to support a 100-kilowatt laser, Kiel said. Any surface combatant large enough to accommodate the close-in weapons system could also carry the laser. If funding is approved to field the system, the team could put a high-fidelity prototype to sea by 2014 and commence production in the 2017 timeframe.
Source
LETHALFORCE
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Lenta.ru: Оружие: РоÑÑÐ¸Ñ ÑоздаÑÑ‚ лазер Ð´Ð»Ñ Ð¿Ð¾Ð´Ð°Ð²Ð»ÐµÐ½Ð¸Ñ Ñ€Ð°Ð·Ð²ÐµÐ´ÐºÐ¸ противника
Russia working on airborne LASER weapon system
Russia is developing a laser system designed to suppress enemy reconnaissance assets, Interfax reported citing a source in the military-industrial complex. "Aviation and laser complex designed for the transfer of laser energy to remote objects in order to counter the infrared opto-electronic means of the enemy" - a source told the agency.
The laser system was being installed on the aircraft A-60, based at the transport of IL-76. To date, the complex has been developing for quite some time, passed through several successful tests. The new weapon in the first place will be supplied Russian troops speech on exports is not yet. The fact that Russia is developing a military air-based laser, the first time in August 2009 declared valid academic advisor to the Academy of Engineering Sciences of Russia Yury Zaitsev.
According to him, in a weapons program, which was approved by the Scientific and Technical Council of the Military Industrialization Commission, there are sections that involve the holding of works on the development of laser weapons. This Zaitsev said that the development of laser weapons were in the USSR. In particular, in 1972, has been tested "fairly powerful setup.
Lenta.ru: Оружие: РоÑÑÐ¸Ñ ÑоздаÑÑ‚ лазер Ð´Ð»Ñ Ð¿Ð¾Ð´Ð°Ð²Ð»ÐµÐ½Ð¸Ñ Ñ€Ð°Ð·Ð²ÐµÐ´ÐºÐ¸ противника
Russia working on airborne LASER weapon system
Russia is developing a laser system designed to suppress enemy reconnaissance assets, Interfax reported citing a source in the military-industrial complex. "Aviation and laser complex designed for the transfer of laser energy to remote objects in order to counter the infrared opto-electronic means of the enemy" - a source told the agency.
The laser system was being installed on the aircraft A-60, based at the transport of IL-76. To date, the complex has been developing for quite some time, passed through several successful tests. The new weapon in the first place will be supplied Russian troops speech on exports is not yet. The fact that Russia is developing a military air-based laser, the first time in August 2009 declared valid academic advisor to the Academy of Engineering Sciences of Russia Yury Zaitsev.
According to him, in a weapons program, which was approved by the Scientific and Technical Council of the Military Industrialization Commission, there are sections that involve the holding of works on the development of laser weapons. This Zaitsev said that the development of laser weapons were in the USSR. In particular, in 1972, has been tested "fairly powerful setup.
LETHALFORCE
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New System Developed To Test And Evaluate High-Energy Laser Weapons
New System Developed To Test And Evaluate High-Energy Laser Weapons
Technologies for using laser energy to destroy threats at a distance have been in development for many years. Today, these technologies known as directed energy weapons are maturing to the point of becoming deployable.
High-energy lasers, one type of directed energy weapon, can be mounted on aircraft to deliver a large amount of energy to a far-away target at the speed of light, resulting in structural and incendiary damage. These lasers can be powerful enough to destroy cruise missiles, artillery projectiles, rockets and mortar rounds.
Before these weapons can be used in the field, the lasers must be tested and evaluated at test ranges. The power and energy distribution of the high-energy laser beam must be accurately measured on a target board, with high spatial and temporal resolution.
Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a system to measure a laser's power and spatial energy distribution simultaneously by directing the laser beam onto a glass target board they designed.
Ultimately, the reusable target board and beam diagnostic system will help accelerate the development of such high-energy laser systems and reduce the time required to make them operational for national security purposes.
"The high-energy laser beam delivers its energy to a small spot on the target - only a couple inches in diameter - but the intensity is strong enough to melt steel," said GTRI senior research scientist David Roberts.
"Our goal was to develop a method for determining how many watts of energy were hitting that area and how the energy distribution changed over time so that the lasers can be optimized."
GTRI teamed with Leon Glebov of Orlando-based OptiGrate to design and fabricate a target board that could survive high-energy laser irradiation without changing its properties or significantly affecting the beam. The researchers selected OptiGrate's handmade photo-thermo-refractive glass - a sodium-zinc-aluminum-silicate glass doped with silver, cerium and fluorine - for the target board.
"This glass is unique in that it is transparent, but also photosensitive like film so you can record holograms and other optical structures in the glass, then 'develop' them in a furnace," explained Roberts.
The researchers tweaked the optical characteristics of the glass so that the board would resist degradation and laser damage. OptiGrate also had to create a new mold to produce four-inch by four-inch pieces of the glass - a size four times larger than OptiGrate had ever made before.
During testing, the four-inch-square target board is secured between a test target and a high-energy laser, and the beam irradiance profile on the board is imaged by a remote camera. The images are then analyzed to provide a contour map showing the power density - watts per square inch - at every location where the beam hit the target.
"We can also simultaneously collect power measurements as a function of time with no extra equipment," noted Roberts.
"Previously, measuring the total energy delivered by the laser required a ball calorimeter and temperature measurements had to be collected as the laser heated the interior of the ball. Now we can measure the total energy along with the total power and power density anywhere inside the beam more than one hundred times per second."
GTRI's prototype target boards and a high-energy laser beam profiling system that uses those boards were delivered to Kirtland Air Force Base's Laser Effects Test Facility in May. The researchers successfully demonstrated them using the facility's 50-kilowatt fiber laser and measured power densities as high as 10,000 watts per square centimeter without damaging the beam profiler.
Scaling the system up to larger target board sizes is possible, according to Roberts.
New System Developed To Test And Evaluate High-Energy Laser Weapons
Technologies for using laser energy to destroy threats at a distance have been in development for many years. Today, these technologies known as directed energy weapons are maturing to the point of becoming deployable.
High-energy lasers, one type of directed energy weapon, can be mounted on aircraft to deliver a large amount of energy to a far-away target at the speed of light, resulting in structural and incendiary damage. These lasers can be powerful enough to destroy cruise missiles, artillery projectiles, rockets and mortar rounds.
Before these weapons can be used in the field, the lasers must be tested and evaluated at test ranges. The power and energy distribution of the high-energy laser beam must be accurately measured on a target board, with high spatial and temporal resolution.
Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a system to measure a laser's power and spatial energy distribution simultaneously by directing the laser beam onto a glass target board they designed.
Ultimately, the reusable target board and beam diagnostic system will help accelerate the development of such high-energy laser systems and reduce the time required to make them operational for national security purposes.
"The high-energy laser beam delivers its energy to a small spot on the target - only a couple inches in diameter - but the intensity is strong enough to melt steel," said GTRI senior research scientist David Roberts.
"Our goal was to develop a method for determining how many watts of energy were hitting that area and how the energy distribution changed over time so that the lasers can be optimized."
GTRI teamed with Leon Glebov of Orlando-based OptiGrate to design and fabricate a target board that could survive high-energy laser irradiation without changing its properties or significantly affecting the beam. The researchers selected OptiGrate's handmade photo-thermo-refractive glass - a sodium-zinc-aluminum-silicate glass doped with silver, cerium and fluorine - for the target board.
"This glass is unique in that it is transparent, but also photosensitive like film so you can record holograms and other optical structures in the glass, then 'develop' them in a furnace," explained Roberts.
The researchers tweaked the optical characteristics of the glass so that the board would resist degradation and laser damage. OptiGrate also had to create a new mold to produce four-inch by four-inch pieces of the glass - a size four times larger than OptiGrate had ever made before.
During testing, the four-inch-square target board is secured between a test target and a high-energy laser, and the beam irradiance profile on the board is imaged by a remote camera. The images are then analyzed to provide a contour map showing the power density - watts per square inch - at every location where the beam hit the target.
"We can also simultaneously collect power measurements as a function of time with no extra equipment," noted Roberts.
"Previously, measuring the total energy delivered by the laser required a ball calorimeter and temperature measurements had to be collected as the laser heated the interior of the ball. Now we can measure the total energy along with the total power and power density anywhere inside the beam more than one hundred times per second."
GTRI's prototype target boards and a high-energy laser beam profiling system that uses those boards were delivered to Kirtland Air Force Base's Laser Effects Test Facility in May. The researchers successfully demonstrated them using the facility's 50-kilowatt fiber laser and measured power densities as high as 10,000 watts per square centimeter without damaging the beam profiler.
Scaling the system up to larger target board sizes is possible, according to Roberts.
nrj
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How real is the threat of laser weapons?
On February 12, 2010, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) used the Airborne Laser Test Bed (ALTB) mounted on a Boeing B-747 jumbo jet to shoot down a liquid-propellant and a solid-propellant target missile.
The ALTB project is one of the MDA's most ambitious and long-term programs. Washington launched its initial research in this sphere in the 1970s. At that time, an NKC-135-ALL aircraft, a modified version of the KC-135 Stratotanker, was built and used as an airborne laboratory.
United Technologies built a 10-ton, 04-0.5-MWt CO2 laser system for the program. The NKC-135-ALL was involved in a series of tests in the late 1970s and the early 1980s. Although the tests proved that a laser weapon was feasible, it had a range of just a few kilometers and therefore lacked any military prospects.
In 1985, a laser weapon used in ground tests heated up the stationary fuel tank of a Titan-1 intercontinental ballistic missile simulating a Soviet ICBM a thousand meters away causing it to explode.
Such tests, as well as the NKC-135-ALL program, were conducted under the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program. However it was impossible to develop a feasible missile defense system based on airborne laser weapons because most of the technical problems remained unsolved.
The Soviet Union also implemented an airborne laser weapon program and built a Beriev A-60 aircraft, an upgraded version of the Il-76 transport aircraft. Although Moscow virtually mothballed the program after the break-up of the U.S.S.R. in late 1991, the media reported last year that it had been resumed.
The United States resumed work on airborne laser weapons in the late 1990s after the issue of implementing the National Missile Defense Program (NMD) was raised. Initially there were plans to build two prototype and five production aircraft by 2012.
However, it was later decided to scale down the program, due to skyrocketing costs. Although a prototype aircraft was scheduled to be completed by 2012, Washington decided not to build it and retained only one YAL-1 prototype, work on which began in 2000.
What is the ALTB's potential? Although there is no exhaustive information on the February 12 tests, some conclusions can be drawn on the basis of available reports.
The Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser (ABL) weapons system has three laser systems, namely, a Track Illuminator Laser (TILL) for illuminating the target and adjusting the parameters of the laser weapon's optical system, a Beacon Illuminator Laser (BILL) for reducing atmospheric aberration, and the six-module High-Energy Laser (HEL) weapon system.
The YAL-1 can hit ballistic missiles during their boost phase and has a range of 200-250 km. The effective range is limited by the laser unit's power, the laser beam's atmospheric dissipation, atmospheric aberration affecting siting accuracy and the laser-beam gas breakdown effect which has not yet been eliminated. Moreover, an excessively powerful laser unit could overheat the fuselage and cause the plane to crash.
These factors and the system's low rate of fire currently make it possible only to intercept individual missiles at short range. It appears that such systems will be unable to neutralize an all-out nuclear strike in the next 20-30 years.
Speaking of a hypothetical Russian-U.S. conflict, airborne laser weapons would have to be deployed in Russian air space in order to be able to intercept Russian missiles in their boost phase and during the separation of their multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs). In fact, they would have only 3-5 minutes to accomplish this objective.
However, even Russia's problem-ridden air-defense system would not allow a B-747 to roam free in national air space.
Airborne laser weapons present a greater threat to strategic ballistic missile submarines which either patrol Russian territorial waters or international waters. However, there is one limitation. As the submarines spend most of their time underwater, laser-carrying aircraft could not quickly reach the optimal firing position necessary for a successful missile interception.
Consequently, this project's current version threatens only countries such as Iran or North Korea which have a small territory and are therefore unable to deploy missile bases far from their borders.
In the next several decades, the potential for laser weapons may be enhanced, especially if it becomes possible to deploy them on hypersonic suborbital platforms operating in the upper atmosphere where laser dissipation is minimized.
However, it would be pointless to deploy such weapons aboard spacecraft, unless payload mass is increased drastically because it would otherwise prove impossible to orbit high-power laser units.
It is impossible to struggle against the development of laser weapons. Practical experience shows that legal documents seldom effectively limit technical progress. Consequently, we must start preparing for a new round of the arms race now.
It is common knowledge that Russia is currently developing new-generation ballistic missiles which will be able to breach missile-defense systems with laser weapons. This objective can be accomplished by reducing a missile's boost phase, enhancing the maneuverability along this flight leg, etc. Analysts are discussing other measures that can shield missiles from laser beams.
Naturally, Russia must conduct independent research in this area to be able to manufacture airborne laser weapons and to effectively cope with similar enemy systems. Media reports about the reinstatement of the A-60 program are particularly important in this context.
Source
On February 12, 2010, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) used the Airborne Laser Test Bed (ALTB) mounted on a Boeing B-747 jumbo jet to shoot down a liquid-propellant and a solid-propellant target missile.
The ALTB project is one of the MDA's most ambitious and long-term programs. Washington launched its initial research in this sphere in the 1970s. At that time, an NKC-135-ALL aircraft, a modified version of the KC-135 Stratotanker, was built and used as an airborne laboratory.
United Technologies built a 10-ton, 04-0.5-MWt CO2 laser system for the program. The NKC-135-ALL was involved in a series of tests in the late 1970s and the early 1980s. Although the tests proved that a laser weapon was feasible, it had a range of just a few kilometers and therefore lacked any military prospects.
In 1985, a laser weapon used in ground tests heated up the stationary fuel tank of a Titan-1 intercontinental ballistic missile simulating a Soviet ICBM a thousand meters away causing it to explode.
Such tests, as well as the NKC-135-ALL program, were conducted under the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program. However it was impossible to develop a feasible missile defense system based on airborne laser weapons because most of the technical problems remained unsolved.
The Soviet Union also implemented an airborne laser weapon program and built a Beriev A-60 aircraft, an upgraded version of the Il-76 transport aircraft. Although Moscow virtually mothballed the program after the break-up of the U.S.S.R. in late 1991, the media reported last year that it had been resumed.
The United States resumed work on airborne laser weapons in the late 1990s after the issue of implementing the National Missile Defense Program (NMD) was raised. Initially there were plans to build two prototype and five production aircraft by 2012.
However, it was later decided to scale down the program, due to skyrocketing costs. Although a prototype aircraft was scheduled to be completed by 2012, Washington decided not to build it and retained only one YAL-1 prototype, work on which began in 2000.
What is the ALTB's potential? Although there is no exhaustive information on the February 12 tests, some conclusions can be drawn on the basis of available reports.
The Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser (ABL) weapons system has three laser systems, namely, a Track Illuminator Laser (TILL) for illuminating the target and adjusting the parameters of the laser weapon's optical system, a Beacon Illuminator Laser (BILL) for reducing atmospheric aberration, and the six-module High-Energy Laser (HEL) weapon system.
The YAL-1 can hit ballistic missiles during their boost phase and has a range of 200-250 km. The effective range is limited by the laser unit's power, the laser beam's atmospheric dissipation, atmospheric aberration affecting siting accuracy and the laser-beam gas breakdown effect which has not yet been eliminated. Moreover, an excessively powerful laser unit could overheat the fuselage and cause the plane to crash.
These factors and the system's low rate of fire currently make it possible only to intercept individual missiles at short range. It appears that such systems will be unable to neutralize an all-out nuclear strike in the next 20-30 years.
Speaking of a hypothetical Russian-U.S. conflict, airborne laser weapons would have to be deployed in Russian air space in order to be able to intercept Russian missiles in their boost phase and during the separation of their multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs). In fact, they would have only 3-5 minutes to accomplish this objective.
However, even Russia's problem-ridden air-defense system would not allow a B-747 to roam free in national air space.
Airborne laser weapons present a greater threat to strategic ballistic missile submarines which either patrol Russian territorial waters or international waters. However, there is one limitation. As the submarines spend most of their time underwater, laser-carrying aircraft could not quickly reach the optimal firing position necessary for a successful missile interception.
Consequently, this project's current version threatens only countries such as Iran or North Korea which have a small territory and are therefore unable to deploy missile bases far from their borders.
In the next several decades, the potential for laser weapons may be enhanced, especially if it becomes possible to deploy them on hypersonic suborbital platforms operating in the upper atmosphere where laser dissipation is minimized.
However, it would be pointless to deploy such weapons aboard spacecraft, unless payload mass is increased drastically because it would otherwise prove impossible to orbit high-power laser units.
It is impossible to struggle against the development of laser weapons. Practical experience shows that legal documents seldom effectively limit technical progress. Consequently, we must start preparing for a new round of the arms race now.
It is common knowledge that Russia is currently developing new-generation ballistic missiles which will be able to breach missile-defense systems with laser weapons. This objective can be accomplished by reducing a missile's boost phase, enhancing the maneuverability along this flight leg, etc. Analysts are discussing other measures that can shield missiles from laser beams.
Naturally, Russia must conduct independent research in this area to be able to manufacture airborne laser weapons and to effectively cope with similar enemy systems. Media reports about the reinstatement of the A-60 program are particularly important in this context.
Source
LETHALFORCE
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Maritime Laser System Shows Higher Lethality At Longer Ranges
Maritime Laser System Shows Higher Lethality At Longer Ranges
Dahlgren VA (SPX) Oct 01, 2010
Tests of the U.S. Navy's Maritime Laser Demonstration (MLD) system conducted recently at the Potomac River Test Range confirmed the laser weapon system's readiness to proceed with at-sea testing later this year, according to Northrop Grumman Corporation.
Operating from a fixed site on land, the MLD weapon system fired a laser beam at a number of stationary targets, including representative small boat sections, across the Potomac River, company executives said. The laser burned through small boat sections in these tests, conducted in late August and early September.
"We have shown that the Maritime Laser Demonstrator's design is as lethal at longer ranges as other previously demonstrated approaches," said Steve Hixson, vice president of Advanced Concepts, Space and Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector.
"We have optimized the Maritime Laser Demonstrator's design to make it much more lethal at longer ranges while using less laser power than other approaches.
"This means we can defeat threats at longer ranges using less electric power from a ship and with a smaller, more affordable weapon," Hixson noted.
"This successful test series, coupled with the successful shore tracking tests earlier this year, give us confidence that we will be successful at the at sea demonstrator scheduled later this year."
According to Hixson, the MLD laser weapon is based on mature technologies developed through several Defense Department programs, such as the precision tracking system from the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL), which destroyed some 46 rockets, artillery and mortars in flight.
The MLD laser weapon also features the high-brightness, solid-state laser technology from the Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) program, which was provided by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office, Arlington, Va., and the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, Huntsville, Ala. Northrop Grumman was the prime contractor for THEL and JHPSSL.
Northrop Grumman is developing MLD for the Office of Naval Research with a goal of demonstrating the readiness of solid-state laser weapon systems to begin transition to the fleet to engage targets that challenge current defensive systems such as swarms of enemy fast patrol boats.
The "static land" tests were conducted at the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Dahlgren, Va., Division, where it operates the Potomac River Test Range, the nation's largest, fully-instrumented, over-the-water firing range. Such tests in marine or coastal conditions are essential because weapon systems and sensors function differently over water than over land.
"Unlike commercial lasers that form the core of some laser systems intended for use at sea, MLD's power levels can be scaled to 100 kilowatts and beyond to defend ships from a wider variety of threats," according to Dan Wildt, vice president, Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman. MLD is a multiple kilowatt, high-energy system for the purposes of the current demonstration phase.
"Another advantage of our approach is a modular architecture system that makes upgrades easy as subsystem technology
advances. This allows MLD to use any laser," Wildt added. "Competing approaches are performance-limited by their use of gun-mounted beam directors, commercial lasers and less accurate tracking systems."
Maritime Laser System Shows Higher Lethality At Longer Ranges
Dahlgren VA (SPX) Oct 01, 2010
Tests of the U.S. Navy's Maritime Laser Demonstration (MLD) system conducted recently at the Potomac River Test Range confirmed the laser weapon system's readiness to proceed with at-sea testing later this year, according to Northrop Grumman Corporation.
Operating from a fixed site on land, the MLD weapon system fired a laser beam at a number of stationary targets, including representative small boat sections, across the Potomac River, company executives said. The laser burned through small boat sections in these tests, conducted in late August and early September.
"We have shown that the Maritime Laser Demonstrator's design is as lethal at longer ranges as other previously demonstrated approaches," said Steve Hixson, vice president of Advanced Concepts, Space and Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector.
"We have optimized the Maritime Laser Demonstrator's design to make it much more lethal at longer ranges while using less laser power than other approaches.
"This means we can defeat threats at longer ranges using less electric power from a ship and with a smaller, more affordable weapon," Hixson noted.
"This successful test series, coupled with the successful shore tracking tests earlier this year, give us confidence that we will be successful at the at sea demonstrator scheduled later this year."
According to Hixson, the MLD laser weapon is based on mature technologies developed through several Defense Department programs, such as the precision tracking system from the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL), which destroyed some 46 rockets, artillery and mortars in flight.
The MLD laser weapon also features the high-brightness, solid-state laser technology from the Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) program, which was provided by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office, Arlington, Va., and the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, Huntsville, Ala. Northrop Grumman was the prime contractor for THEL and JHPSSL.
Northrop Grumman is developing MLD for the Office of Naval Research with a goal of demonstrating the readiness of solid-state laser weapon systems to begin transition to the fleet to engage targets that challenge current defensive systems such as swarms of enemy fast patrol boats.
The "static land" tests were conducted at the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Dahlgren, Va., Division, where it operates the Potomac River Test Range, the nation's largest, fully-instrumented, over-the-water firing range. Such tests in marine or coastal conditions are essential because weapon systems and sensors function differently over water than over land.
"Unlike commercial lasers that form the core of some laser systems intended for use at sea, MLD's power levels can be scaled to 100 kilowatts and beyond to defend ships from a wider variety of threats," according to Dan Wildt, vice president, Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman. MLD is a multiple kilowatt, high-energy system for the purposes of the current demonstration phase.
"Another advantage of our approach is a modular architecture system that makes upgrades easy as subsystem technology
advances. This allows MLD to use any laser," Wildt added. "Competing approaches are performance-limited by their use of gun-mounted beam directors, commercial lasers and less accurate tracking systems."
sesha_maruthi27
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India Developing Laser-Based Anti-Missile Systems
India Developing Laser-Based Anti-Missile Systems
Indian scientists are developing laser-based anti-ballistic missile systems called Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs).
Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), DEW weapons can kill incoming ballistic missiles by bombarding them with subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves. The weapons could intercept missiles soon after they were launched toward India.
A DRDO scientist said laser-based weapons have been tested. One of these weapons is the air defense dazzler, which can engage enemy aircraft and helicopters at a range of 10 kilometers. This weapon will be ready for induction in two years.
India's laser weapons can be deployed in the Navy's submarines and destroyers, and Air Force fighters and transport planes.
The DEW laser weapon is capable of producing 25-kilowatt pulses that can destroy a ballistic missile within seven kilometers, the scientist said.
In addition, Indian scientists are testing the Prithvi homemade anti-ballistic missile system, which can kill ballistic missiles at a height of up to 80 kilometers. The first-phase Prithvi is likely to be inducted by 2013, said the DRDO scientist.
Scientists are working on developing second-phase Prithvis capable of killing incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4757079
India Developing Laser-Based Anti-Missile Systems
Indian scientists are developing laser-based anti-ballistic missile systems called Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs).
Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), DEW weapons can kill incoming ballistic missiles by bombarding them with subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves. The weapons could intercept missiles soon after they were launched toward India.
A DRDO scientist said laser-based weapons have been tested. One of these weapons is the air defense dazzler, which can engage enemy aircraft and helicopters at a range of 10 kilometers. This weapon will be ready for induction in two years.
India's laser weapons can be deployed in the Navy's submarines and destroyers, and Air Force fighters and transport planes.
The DEW laser weapon is capable of producing 25-kilowatt pulses that can destroy a ballistic missile within seven kilometers, the scientist said.
In addition, Indian scientists are testing the Prithvi homemade anti-ballistic missile system, which can kill ballistic missiles at a height of up to 80 kilometers. The first-phase Prithvi is likely to be inducted by 2013, said the DRDO scientist.
Scientists are working on developing second-phase Prithvis capable of killing incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4757079
black eagle
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its a two months old news. I think a separate thread already exists on this. This thread is not needed, i think.
sesha_maruthi27
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Were is the other thread. Please give the link.
sesha_maruthi27
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DRDO Develops New Laser-Based Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems
Indian scientists at Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are designing new laser-based anti-missile systems called the Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs).
The Directed Energy Weapons bombard incoming ballistic missiles with electromagnetic waves or subatomic particles to destroy them. The laser weapons are suitable for Air Force transport planes and fighters, and Navy's destroyers and submarines.
According to a DRDO scientist, the laser-based anti-ballistic missile systems have gone through standard testing procedures. An air defense dazzler, one of the weapons, can engage enemy helicopters at a 10 km range. The laser weapon will be set for induction in the next two years.
The scientist added that the DEW can generate 25 kW pulses, which can shoot down a missile within 7 km. Scientists are currently testing the Prithvi anti-ballistic missile system, which is scheduled for induction by 2013. The Prithvi can destroy ballistic missiles at a range of 80 km. The scientist informed that Indian scientists are developing the second-phase Prithvis, which is capable of destroying incoming ballistic missiles.
Indian scientists at Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are designing new laser-based anti-missile systems called the Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs).
The Directed Energy Weapons bombard incoming ballistic missiles with electromagnetic waves or subatomic particles to destroy them. The laser weapons are suitable for Air Force transport planes and fighters, and Navy's destroyers and submarines.
According to a DRDO scientist, the laser-based anti-ballistic missile systems have gone through standard testing procedures. An air defense dazzler, one of the weapons, can engage enemy helicopters at a 10 km range. The laser weapon will be set for induction in the next two years.
The scientist added that the DEW can generate 25 kW pulses, which can shoot down a missile within 7 km. Scientists are currently testing the Prithvi anti-ballistic missile system, which is scheduled for induction by 2013. The Prithvi can destroy ballistic missiles at a range of 80 km. The scientist informed that Indian scientists are developing the second-phase Prithvis, which is capable of destroying incoming ballistic missiles.
sesha_maruthi27
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India tactical anti-missile laser weapon research and effective distance of 7 km
According to the U.S., "Defense News" website reported on August 25, India's Defence Research and Development Organization is developing called "directed energy weapons" (DEW) of the laser anti-missile systems. Once the direction of enemy missile launches in India, such weapons can be immediately blocked.
reported, DEW laser particle beam or electromagnetic waves capable of firing, shelling incoming ballistic missiles. An Indian Defence Research and Development Organization scientists said, such weapons have been tested.
Indian scientists to disclose, DEW laser power is 25 kilowatts, to intercept ballistic missiles, the effective distance of 7 km. In addition to laser weapons, India is also developing anti-missile missiles with laser weapons together to build a missile defense network. It is reported that India's scientists are developing two of the "Prithvi" missile missiles designed to intercept ICBMs.
except for building anti-missile network, India is developing tactical laser weapons. R & D in India, a series of laser weapons, there is a "dazzling air defense weapons", such equipment, the effective range of 10 kilometers to fight against the enemy fighters and helicopters. Reported that laser air defense weapon is expected to mature in the next 2 years.
"Defense News," analysts say, both the deployment of laser weapons in the Indian Navy's submarines and destroyers, also equipped with Air Force fighter and transport aircraft. (Source: International Online - "News of the World")
According to the U.S., "Defense News" website reported on August 25, India's Defence Research and Development Organization is developing called "directed energy weapons" (DEW) of the laser anti-missile systems. Once the direction of enemy missile launches in India, such weapons can be immediately blocked.
reported, DEW laser particle beam or electromagnetic waves capable of firing, shelling incoming ballistic missiles. An Indian Defence Research and Development Organization scientists said, such weapons have been tested.
Indian scientists to disclose, DEW laser power is 25 kilowatts, to intercept ballistic missiles, the effective distance of 7 km. In addition to laser weapons, India is also developing anti-missile missiles with laser weapons together to build a missile defense network. It is reported that India's scientists are developing two of the "Prithvi" missile missiles designed to intercept ICBMs.
except for building anti-missile network, India is developing tactical laser weapons. R & D in India, a series of laser weapons, there is a "dazzling air defense weapons", such equipment, the effective range of 10 kilometers to fight against the enemy fighters and helicopters. Reported that laser air defense weapon is expected to mature in the next 2 years.
"Defense News," analysts say, both the deployment of laser weapons in the Indian Navy's submarines and destroyers, also equipped with Air Force fighter and transport aircraft. (Source: International Online - "News of the World")
