DARPA ushers in an Era of Laser Drones for the US. Updated: November 24, 2013 US Manned and Unmanned (Drones) Aircraft to get Laser Mounts, Capable of stopping any Missile/ Aerial Object Syed Muhammad Usman Pirzada, WCCF Tech Wow, is it just me or this is one part of the future that i could have lived without.
DARPA and the US are ushering in a new Era. An era of laser drones, remember when in the movies they hear a whine and then chaos? It is called “Project Endurance” and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) just awarded $14.6 million (£9.2 million) to Northrop Gurmman and another $11.4 million (£7.2 million) to Lockheeed Martin for the sole purpose of developing laser weapons capable of being fitted into Drones and Jets.
Now the problem with this particular defense system is that 1) it is too big and 2) it consumes too much power. [Warning: Author's Opinion Ranting is Given] Seeing that this project will most likely succeed the future of the battlefield is changing beyond recognition, and probably not for the better. DARPA is serious about laser weapons. The Pentagon wants laser weapons badly.
Their first foray into the realm of ray guns was the impressive-but-impractical Airborne Laser Testbed, a Boeing 747 with a giant laser mounted on its nose. That project was scrapped, but the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is moving ahead with two new plans to make laser weaponry a reality. The High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System (HELLADS) is DARPA's answer to increasingly sophisticated surface-to-air threats. These liquid-cooled lasers would be mounted on turrets on combat airplanes to shoot down incoming rockets or missiles. DARPA's description of HELLADS also mentions "additional capability for offensive missions as well -- adding precise targeting with low probability of collateral damage. " The goal of the project is to design a 150-kilowatt system small enough to fit on fighter jets and bombers.
The second project DARPA is working on is Aero-Adaptive/Aero-Optic Beam Control (ABC) . © 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. DARPA ushers in an Era of Laser Drones for the US. Wow, is it just me or this is one part of the future that i could have lived without.
DARPA and the US are ushering in a new Era. An era of laser drones, remember when in the movies they hear a whine and then chaos? Well, that aint just fiction anymore. It is called “Project Endurance” and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) just awarded $14.6 million (£9.2 million) to Northrop Gurmman and another $11.4 million (£7.2 million) to Lockheeed Martin for the sole purpose of developing laser weapons capable of being fitted into Drones and Jets. For those of you who do not know, highly efficient and lethal laser weapons already exist. Now the problem with this particular defense system is that 1) it is too big and 2) it consumes too much power.
[Warning: Author's Opinion Ranting is Given] Seeing that this project will most likely succeed the future of the battlefield is changing beyond recognition, and probably not for the better.