Lockheed Martin Has a Laser for the Army

Megalith

Megalith

24-bit/48kHz
Staff member
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
13,000
Thanks to Lockheed Martin, the US Army now has a new toy for blowing up drones, rockets, and other highly maneuverable and evasive nuisances. The laser weapon is rated at 58kW, which seems like a practical amount of power, as 10kW alone would be enough to shoot a mortar out of the sky. Sadly, the laser beams will not be visible, contrary to illustrations.

The combined fiber laser uses multiple individual lasers that are focused together into a single beam. It’s a big device, but it should be able to fit onto an armored truck. The Navy has previously deployed a laser with about half the power on a ship in the Persian Gulf. That weapon requires a big battery and wouldn’t be viable in an on-the-ground mobile situation. Lockheed’s design is both lighter and more powerful than anything in use. It still isn’t small enough to make a handheld blaster and it wouldn’t be used for targeting individual people. The goal is to combat small aircraft, drones, and rockets.
 
I don't know why I'm so disappointed there's no visible beam; but I am. :-(
 
Powerful enough to blow up a rocket you say?

Beam isn't visible huh?

It's mobile?


I suppose if you had an exclusive contract with the United States Military and some small time startup company came out of no where and threatened that exclusive contract, a weapon like this might be of some use.






BTW this is not a conspiracy I just made up, this was proposed back then. Lockheed has been working on this directed energy weapon for a while.
 
You can't just prove a conspiracy theory false. Especially not with simulations. You can't even do it with real evidence. Do you even Internet?
 
Cannot wait till they shrink these bad boys down to size! Can you imagine if they branched out to the other military branches?

The Navy could finally have Sharks with frickin lasers!
 
It might be able to fit on an armored truck, but I have to wonder how you'd go about powering it... 58KW is not exactly a small amount of power to deliver. It would need 10 telsa cars chained together to offer enough juice to run it, or you'd have to have a way to charge some super caps that can release their energy much faster. Since there is no measurement of time we don't know if you need to focus a laser at it for 3 seconds or 3 minutes before the target is taken down which would obviously change how much actual stored energy you would need.

EDIT: I'm reading the entry for the "powerwall" and not the power pack. (7KW peak, 5KW continuous) I don't see any ratings for the battery that is in the car.
 
Last edited:
bman212121 said:
It might be able to fit on an armored truck, but I have to wonder how you'd go about powering it... 58KW is not exactly a small amount of power to deliver. It would need 10 telsa cars chained together to offer enough juice to run it, or you'd have to have a way to charge some super caps that can release their energy much faster. Since there is no measurement of time we don't know if you need to focus a laser at it for 3 seconds or 3 minutes before the target is taken down which would obviously change how much actual stored energy you would need.

EDIT: I'm reading the entry for the "powerwall" and not the power pack. (7KW peak, 5KW continuous) I don't see any ratings for the battery that is in the car.
Click to expand...
60 kw is roughly 80 horsepower. I don't know the numbers, but I'm fairly certain Teslas produce more than 200 horsepower.
 
So during a battle if they stopped shooting drones for a min and aimed this laser at people it would melt a hole right through them?!? It wouldn't be against the rules as long as you didn't blind the people. So don't shoot their eyes out.
The Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, Protocol IV of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
 
For some reason I feel the need to watch Real Genius again. I think I still have it on VHS somewhere... no VCR though. Time to shake the internet and see what falls out.
 
Brain - ooh, better news out of LMT. Let's go look at buying some shares!
Wallet - $274/share. *sob*
 
I just want to burn holes in tires of people driving like assholes on the road lol. Hmm, i feel like that impulse puts me in the same group....No, that puts me in the batman group for sure.
 
Darunion said:
I just want to burn holes in tires of people driving like assholes on the road lol. Hmm, i feel like that impulse puts me in the same group....No, that puts me in the batman group for sure.
Click to expand...

I approve of this, and please ship me one as soon as possible.
 
cyberguyz said:
Ain't it illegal to point a laser at a plane or smth? ;)
Click to expand...

Nah this will be fine... it's infrared so the pilots won't see it. They may notice a slight burning sensation as their plane catches on fire, however.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top