Army’s New Laser Cannon Blasts Drones Out of the Sky

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
75,399
The army will soon have a new powerful tool in its arsenal, thanks to Boeing. The company has successfully built and tested a laser cannon potentially capable of taking out virtually anything that flies with a 60 kilowatt laser beam. Phasers are one step closer to reality. :cool:

The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD)—basically a high-energy laser mounted on top of a big truck—was successfully used to blast some UAV drones and 60mm mortars out of the Florida sky earlier this year, Boeing announced Thursday.
Click to expand...
 
Hurray thanks to one of the US main war machine corporations we now have a weapon to shoot down the technology that the US war machine corporations sold them in the first place!

I wonder why it can take out mortar, rocket strikes, drones but doesn't mention other jets. Presumably the useful range is limited?
 
I wonder if it fires in fog if it can blind people in a certain radius.
 
Planned obsolescence at its very best. Next year we'll have drones that can ESD laser cannons. :D
 
I hope we've started doing whatever we can to start shielding from this imminent threat. It may not be long until some "rebels" near the Russian border start taking out our eyes-in-the-sky.
 
IRSmurf said:
I hope we've started doing whatever we can to start shielding satellites from this imminent threat. It may not be long until some "rebels" near the Russian border start taking out our eyes-in-the-sky.
Click to expand...

EDIT
 
I guess standard issue for our troops will soon include safety goggles to prevent blindness from errant or reflected laser fire.

Alot of good a bunch of blind troops will be if a unit is too close or positioned at the wrong angle from the laser attack on the enemy target. Additionally, I imaging civilians will be maimed via permanent blindness if these weapon systems are used in, over, or around populated areas.
 
pew pew pew

It's about time we finally have a cool replacement for projectile armaments. Now to work on cities under the sea.
 
So this is where all the money went that they saved taking tabasco out of our MREs. Bastards....is nothing sacred?
 
sfsuphysics said:
Hurray thanks to one of the US main war machine corporations we now have a weapon to shoot down the technology that the US war machine corporations sold them in the first place!

I wonder why it can take out mortar, rocket strikes, drones but doesn't mention other jets. Presumably the useful range is limited?
Click to expand...


SET PHASERS TO KILL!


oherlihy.jpg
 
Current lasers can operate at temps up to 20,000,000º F. Aim 128 of these lasers at a pellet of cryogenic hydrogen, the resulting X-rays are hot enough to start nuclear fusion. Reliably. The US DOE announced it a few years ago. The last remaining piece in the puzzle is containment, fortunately fusion plasma is highly conductive so magnetic containment is an option. I just hope our military is aware that 20,000,000º is 20,000,000º, no matter who or what it's pointed at.
 
Next thing they're going to do is mount a couple or so of these puppehz into a C10 striking an area while being defended by las0rz, or even to use a las0r during a run to detonate identified explosive materials on ground.
 
And whats the defense against a sniper with a .50 BMG half a klick away potting the lens and mirror?
 
The technology being created is cool
The oppression that will follow, is not.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Hurray thanks to one of the US main war machine corporations we now have a weapon to shoot down the technology that the US war machine corporations sold them in the first place!
Click to expand...

all part of the bigger picture....how better to know where to hit the things than if it's devices we built & sold them?

we sell them the weapons that will be useless to them! it's a win-win! :D
 
Likely the reason this can't take out jets is due to their speed and ability to rapidly change direction and speed. I would imagine the beam would have to focus on a relatively small area for at least a decent amount of time for this to work. Given that they wont admit it can shoot down a passenger airline they would leave jets off the list.
 
We need to ship a couple of these units to Israel for field testing.
 
considering the fact drones will be used by anyone and everyone this is a logical next step
our high class drones have plasma shields that prevent lazors pew pew anyways hah!
 
sfsuphysics said:
Hurray thanks to one of the US main war machine corporations we now have a weapon to shoot down the technology that the US war machine corporations sold them in the first place!

I wonder why it can take out mortar, rocket strikes, drones but doesn't mention other jets. Presumably the useful range is limited?
Click to expand...

Or presumably the contract wasn't written for that, we have patriots for that but patriots can't handle the little stuff, Presumably.
 
ElricXVII said:
And whats the defense against a sniper with a .50 BMG half a klick away potting the lens and mirror?
Click to expand...

Half a klick? 500 meters, why that's an ambitious distance. Fuck man, their are hundreds of old farts all over the country shooting 1000 meters steel with their Springfields ever damn weekend here in the states.

Yes it might be possible to take it out with small arms fire but you do have to get close enough and even 1,000 meters is potentially short range compared to the possible operational range of this defensive weapon system. Our air defense systems are no different and some of them operate close to the front and a their missiles and RADARs are not impervious to a .50 cal. Your objection is irrelevant.
 
show me the crysis style mech suits for the special forces that darpa has been working on and i'll be impressed.
 
I think it's General Dynamics and Raytheon working on them but I'd have to check.
 
Now we just need a SOL weapons platform like the one that was in Akira. :eek::rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top