The U.S. Air Force jets will be armed with a game-changing weapon in near future.
The U.S Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) announced that it would take the delivery
first major component of a prototype laser pod .
The laser pod is part of the SHiELD or Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator program which
has been ongoing since 2015.
It is a defensive tactical laser weapon is will be carried externally.
As per reports, Boeing has finished work on the pod assembly for this directed energy
weapon, inside which the laser and beam control systems will eventually be placed.
Viewers may note that Lockheed Martin is developing the actual solid-state laser and Northrop
Grumman is tasked with supplying the beam control system.
AFRL expects all the components to be delivered by July, after which all three components
will be integrated to make the full system.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how the U.S Air force jets will swat incoming
hostile missiles with SHiELD laser pod?
Let's get into the details.
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The dynamic of air engagement has changed in the last two decades.
Over the years, missile tech has improved significantly.
At present several Beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles are available that can hit aircraft
from long ranges.
For example, American AIM-120D, Chinese PL-15, and European Meteor have the capability to
take down aircraft from a range of around 100 miles or 160 km.
Similarly, integrated long-range air defense systems make it difficult for a fighter jet
to penetrate well-protected airspace.
For example, the Russian S-400 can take down aircraft including 5th generation stealth
fighters, bombers, AWACS, cruise missiles, and even ballistic missiles from a distance
of up to 250 miles or 400 km.
Importantly air to air or ground-to-air missiles are far cheaper than jets.
So, even if a barrage of these is used to take out a single jet, it is still a good
proposition.
Currently, jets are limited to ‘passive' defenses against incoming missiles.
Pilots can take high G evasive maneuvers to shake the missile off its back, fire flares
to distract an infrared missile seeker, or launch strips of aluminum foil, known as “chaff,”
to confuse a missile guided by radar.
But these methods will get increasingly ineffective against modern missiles.
This is where the SHiELD program comes in to provide 'active' defense against these
threats.
The SHiELD program is developing a directed energy laser system that will act as a demonstrator
for a self-defense system that could eventually enable aircraft to protect themselves from
surface-to-air (SAM) or air-to-air (AAM) missiles.
The system could be deployed as an add-on pod in the future.
Though SHiELD will initially be deployed in fighter jets it could eventually make its
way into other platforms like aerial refueling tanker and Airborne Early Warning and Control
aircraft.
The ground-based prototype has already been tested in 2019 and it successfully disabled
several missiles in that demonstration.
Dr. Kelly Hammett, director of AFRL’s Directed Energy Directorate had said at that time,
“This critical demonstration shows that our directed energy systems are on track to
be a game changer for our warfighters,”
Maj. Gen. William Cooley, AFRL commander had said, “The successful test is a big step
ahead for directed energy systems and protection against adversarial threats.
The ability to shoot down missiles with speed of light technology will enable air operation
in denied environments.
I am proud of the AFRL team advancing our Air Force’s directed energy capability.”
AFRL statement stated, “The final SHiELD system, however, will be much smaller and
lighter, as well as ruggedized for an airborne environment.”
Lasers are concentrated beams of light that transmit large amounts of electromagnetic
radiation against their targets.
The power of a laser is generally stated in kilowatts.
The general idea of laser-beam weaponry is to hit a target with a train of brief pulses
of light.
The rapid evaporation and expansion of the surface cause shockwaves that damage the target.
The sufficiently powerful laser could fry the electric sensors & communication modules
thereby disabling the missile.
Lasers system like SHiELD has several very important advantages.
The speed of light enables them to hit their targets almost instantaneously.
Laser weapons also don’t need to carry ammunition like traditional systems and hence they will
be able to take out a much larger number of threats constrained only by the power supply
limit of the platform.
A laser pod will mean almost any jet could potentially be equipped with it.
The latest U.S Air Force press release has stated, “Receiving its first major assembly,
the SHiELD pod structure will enable AFRL scientists and engineers to begin integration
of the complete system, to include pod, laser, and beam control, and signals an end to the
development and production stage of these important subsystems,”
AFRL has indicated that the technical challenges involved are “tremendous.”
Dr. Jeff Heggemeier, SHiELD program manager said,
“These are hard problems we are solving.
Imagine the disturbances and stresses — wind speeds, turbulence, and quick aircraft maneuvers
that a laser system would have to perform under.
We had to solve those challenges first — and that took time.”
The full systems test is now due to commence in Fiscal Year 2024.
Stealth, passive defenses, electronic warfare have all been developed and are being enhanced
to provide jet with ways to counter enemy missiles.
But these are not enough and 'active' defense in the form of laser is getting increasingly
necessary
American military’s tryst with laser weapons is not new.
In 2010, the Air Force mounted and fired off a megawatt-class chemical laser from a modified
Boeing 747.
Things have changed since then and instead of unstable chemical laser used for that experiment,
solid-state lasers are now being used.
It is evident that laser will have a significant part to play in future combat and they are
becoming reality much faster than what we could imagine a decade earlier.
As per evidence available, the U.S could be the first one to mount a laser pod in a jet
and it will surely give U.S Air Force a massive edge,