The Pentagon has always been fascinated by the promise of laser weapons.
At first, it seemed like a staple of science fiction.
But after decades of development - the US military now boasts some of the world’s
most lethal laser weapons.
One of them recently destroyed a floating target in the Middle East during testing,
implying that we may see them more frequently in testing and conflict situations in the
coming months.
Join us in today's video as we don our combat gears and explore the real-life prototypes
of the laser weapons available to the US Military.
History Of U.S Laser Weapons
American physicist Ted Maiman was the first to demonstrate the concept of lasers back
in the 1960s.
But the United States military, faced with the intercontinental ballistic missile threats
from the Soviet Union, quickly adopted the technology.
The Pentagon made huge strides in the development of laser weapons during the SDI Strategic
Defense program, which began in 1984 and lasted till about 1993.
The primary aim of the initiative launched by President Ronald Regan was to secure its
place as the world’s most dominant force in space, which would also facilitate the
development of an anti-missile protection system for the entire North America.
Also, as part of this multi-billion dollar project, the Pentagon committed to developing
nuclear-powered lasers, ground-based lasers, as well as chemical lasers, and orbital mirrors.
As per reports, another goal of the project was to create a system of orbital stations
equipped with chemical lasers.
At the time, a couple of prototypes had been proposed with laser systems with a range of
between five to 20 megawatts.
Their mission was to strike out missiles and Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles as soon
as they left the atmosphere.
Also, officials contemplated the idea of building a partial laser system located in space.
According to reports, this system was equipped with a robust laser complex and an orbital
mirror system designed to direct and reflect beams to warheads.
The laser complex was positioned in a location that helped to resolve quite a number of issues
that engineers were experiencing with the energy heat removal and shield system.
But on the other hand, it triggered some problems with the beam power as it traveled through
the atmosphere.
The idea was to install a collection of laser systems on top of the highest mountains across
the United States.
If the country ever came under attack from the Soviet Union, the laser systems are automatically
triggered to send beams into outer space where concentrating mirrors in the geostationary
orbits collect and redirect them to other lenses in the low orbit, which would, in turn,
reflect the beams at the warheads.
However, these brilliant ideas didn’t see the light of the day, largely due to the demise
of the Soviet Union, which all but ended the Cold War.
But as time went on, developers realized they could use the laser technology to solve other
tactical problems as well.
And since then, a number of laser weapon projects have been launched.
Let’s take a look at the most prominent ones.
Boeing YAL-1
At the moment, the Boeing YAL-1 (formerly known as the Airborne test bed) is perhaps
the most popular laser weapons project in the United States.
With an estimated cost of $700 million, the Boeing YAL-1 is an airborne laser weapons
system aircraft built on the Boeing 747-400F architecture and primarily designed to intercept
and shoot down tactical ballistic missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
It is powered by Pratt And Whitney PW 4062 Turbofan engine, enabling it to travel at
a maximum cruise speed of 480 knots or 900 Km/h.
Initially, the project experienced setbacks due to failed testing and exorbitant cost
overruns.
However, it finally came to life for a test session in January 2010.
The YAL-1 showed a glimpse of its prowess to engage simulated missiles, but it failed
to destroy them.
One month later, the aircraft’s massive laser cannon was put to test yet again off
the coast of California, where it shot down a liquid-fueled ballistic missile.
But, in 2011, after spending $5 billion on development and testing, the US military decided
to cut its losses on the Boeing YAL-1 and end the program.
Northrop Grumman
The Tactical High Energy Laser, THEL, was another major military project that dominated
the headlines in the 90s.
Alternatively known as the Nautilus chemical laser program, this initiative was a combined
effort between the United States Defense Department and the Israeli military.
In 2008, the system was upgraded and relaunched as Sky Guard.
The Northrop Grumman Corporation is also responsible for developing the Directed Energy laser solution
for the US military.
The company is also building new prototypes of laser weapons for the Navy.
Some of them were put to test on the decommissioned Spruance-class destroyer USS Paul F. Foster.
Furthermore, Northrop Grumman is also developing several land-based solid state devices.
Fast forward to 2019, news broke out of a new special laser device produced by Northrop
Grumman.
With a power rating of 150 kilowatts, the system is designed to shoot down unmanned
aerial vehicles on small carriers like the USS Portland LPD-27.
Lockheed Martin
It took a while but Lockheed Martin joined the US laser weapon bandwagon in 2012, unveiling
a new weapon known as Area Defense Anti-munitions (ADAM).
It's basically a laser weapon system built to hunt down improvised rockets, unmanned
aerial systems, and small boat threats from close range.
Between 2012 and 2013, the aerospace company tested this munition against small unmanned
aerial vehicles and air missiles from about one mile away.
Further tests were conducted in 2014 but this time against motorboats.
Three years later, Lockheed Martin carried out testing for a new combat laser with a
reported power rating of 60-kilowatt.
However, the weapon could only muster a power of 58 kilowatts during testing.
At the time, Lockheed Martin claimed the new laser system built for the US Army was 50
percent more energy efficient than the solid state lasers system.
Darpa
As part of the NATO alliance scheme in the 80s, a group of government research institutions
in the US, under the supervision of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA,
collaborated with the firms of the West German Military Industry to develop tactical military
air and missile defense systems.
Fast forward to 2014, DARPA launched the Excalibur program - an initiative to develop a distinct
array of phased optical technologies which would enable the development of scalable laser
weapons that are 10 times lighter and more portable than the existing high-power chemical
laser systems.
It featured a total of 28 fiber lasers combined into a system that’s capable of reflecting
the beam from a distance of over 4 miles.
Each element delivers an emitting power of 10 watts which are assembled in blocks of
seven pieces measuring almost four inches in diameter.
However, their power output can be increased by adding extra blocks.
According to DARPA, the laser weapons technology invented as part of this program will allow
the installation of high-power lasers on a range of military platforms like aircraft
without reducing their performance level and efficiency.
This was also expected to facilitate the development of 100 kilowatts class laser systems to attack
both air and land-based targets.
In 2015, DARPA officials confirmed the development of a 150-kilowatt high-power laser system
to combat the threats that surface-to-air missiles pose to manned and unmanned military
aircraft.
These systems were developed under the HELLADS program.
They operated with an unprecedented speed and power of light to curb these threats.
They also provided extra capability and precision for offensive missions.
In addition, the high-power laser system were ten times more compact and lighter than the
existing lasers, meaning they can easily be integrated onto aircraft to attack and defend
against threats.
However, history was made in November 2021 when the US Army awarded a joint contract
to Boeing and General Atomics to develop a ground-breaking 300-kilowatt laser weapon.
The program tagged the “Distributed Gain High Energy Laser Weapon System” will feature
General Motors Electromagnetic System distributed gain laser and Boeing’s beam director as
well as precision acquisition, tracking, and pointing software.
“The high power, compact laser weapon subsystem prototype that GA-EMS will deliver under this
contract will produce a lethal output greater than anything fielded to date,” Scott Forney,
president of GA-EMS, said in the statement.
“This technology represents a leap-ahead capability for air and missile defense that
is necessary to support the Army’s modernization efforts and defeat next-generation threats
in a multi-domain battlespace,” he added.
This is a huge milestone in the history of laser weapons technology, and once this weapon
is delivered, it will give the United States more firepower to tackle the ever-increasing
threats from Russia and other adversaries.
What do you make of the United States' advancements in laser technology?
Should it be encouraged?
Let's know what your thoughts are in the comments section below.
Be sure to check out this next video over here.