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stixoffire
Get the Laser Mosquito net - I am not sure if it was Steve or Paul that ...
stixoffire
Well think about it this way - No More Bullets, No More Missiles need to be ...
Lasers blast airborne drones in Raytheon-Navy test
R. Colin Johnson
7/22/2010 11:38 AM EDT
PORTLAND, Ore. — Star Wars-era battlefield lasers successfully shot down unmanned areal vehicles (UAVs) during a simulated attack using the U.S. Navy's Laser Weapon System (LaWS) guided by Raytheon's Phalanx Close-in Weapon System (CIWS) sensor suite.
LaWS combines six solid-state lasers that simultaneously focused on the moving targets in the test to destroy them in seconds, outperforming previous tests that focused on stationary targets, according to Raytheon.
The UAVs were tracked with electro-optical sensors, which fused their data stream with a radio-frequency (RF) sensor that provided the targets' range. Once the fused data stream had acquired a lock on the targets, the laser destroyed all four attacking UAVs in-flight during an over-the-water engagement.
A Raytheon-U.S. Navy team is working to add a solid-state laser to the Phalanx Close-in Weapon System
Raytheon said it would still be several years before the system could be deployed on ships. The weapon is also being adapted for deployment on land in trailers that could be pulled to the battlefield, according to the company.
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R_Colin_Johnson
7/22/2010 12:48 PM EDT
How long do you think it will take for battlefield lasers to be deployed? If you go back and watch the original Star Wars saga, you will find that it is staring to look like Flash Gordon--that is, full of technologies that may never see the light of day. Battlefield lasers, however, may be a Star Wars technology that actually enters the realm of reality. The Navy has been testing its lasers on stationary targets for some time, but this demonstration shows that the Raytheon sensors and tracking algorithms can also shoot down moving targets in realtime. They are still as much as a decade away from widespread deployment, but battlefield lasers are starting to seem less far fetched than Flash Gordon's ray gun. How long do you think it will take for battlefield lasers to be deployed?
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MikeLC
7/22/2010 2:50 PM EDT
Now all we have to do is sell this to some foreign powers and they can shoot down our UAV's. :-) Keeps the Defense machine running. Great usage of tax dollars. Seriously, the tracking algorithms will probably find usage in commercial applications.
Think about though. This is yet another type of weapon for destruction and battlefield usage which may, in fact, be banned because of ethical issues. I guess it's better than metal jacketed bullets with uranium cores, but we shouldn't get too carried away with the technology without at least considering the consequences.
If it is used, it should be restricted, in my opinion. Like land-mines, or atomic bombs: "seemed like a good idea at the time."
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stixoffire
9/23/2011 3:21 AM EDT
Well think about it this way - No More Bullets, No More Missiles need to be made, No More Explosives for those missiles or bombs.That should reduce the cost of the military. Much more precise too. Of course there is a downside as well - the people that make those bullets and missiles will need to find a new job.
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Rick Merritt
7/23/2010 2:47 PM EDT
I hear every branch of the U.S. armed services is developing more kinds of drones than you can shake a stick at these days, seeing them as a very effective tools.
I guess the next step is making sure the other guy doesn't have them or can't use them effectively.
Drone wars indeed. The next generation of young people may not have to don uniforms and go overseas, just man the videogame consoles in the den!
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John McGehee
7/23/2010 3:48 PM EDT
Perhaps the only countermeasure the enemy needs is a shiny new paint job on their aircraft.
Or maybe at last they really do need the gold-plated weapon systems that the defense industry wants to sell them.
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Rich Krajewski
7/25/2010 5:26 AM EDT
All you need is a little dirt on your shiny paint job to burn right through it! So, yes, I'm encouraged by this development. Maybe it will generate jobs. And technology spinoffs (what a great way to get rid of those pesky squirrels in my backyard--there aren't enough hawks and snakes to eat them all).
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stixoffire
9/23/2011 3:23 AM EDT
Get the Laser Mosquito net - I am not sure if it was Steve or Paul that developed it for the Gates foundation. Search it out - Star Wars for Mosquitos.
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