Airborn tactical laser

[Dr Mordrid]

The laser gun takes flight,

Boeing Advanced Tactical Laser

Truck-mounted IED-destroying lasers have already been tested in Iraq, but firing lasers from an airplane is a more difficult proposition. The first successful test of a plane-mounted laser gun came on August 7, when Boeing’s 18-ton chemical laser fired a beam from a C-130H aircraft and destroyed a three-by-three-foot target on the ground. It was the first time all of the ATL’s lab-tested pieces came together to vaporize a target. Why use a beam instead of a bomb? Precision strikes, with (theoretically) no collateral damage. The military hopes to deploy the system in the next five years.

[rylan]

So just how many shots or duration does it get before they have to land to refuel the laser?

I thought that high power chemical lasers consume insane amounts of fuel.

[Mehen]

I'll be really impressed once they can do that from a satellite like in every second bond movie

Actually this is pretty impressive. Tell this to someone from 20 years ago and see what they'd say. I wonder what height they did it from.

[Nowhere]

...or at least from something like B-1, B-2 or Tu-160.

Yeah, probably Hercules is much more practical, but those planes are much more...impressive when in the air.

[MultimediaMan]

Just wait until they can cram one of these into a Predator or Raptor UAV...

Those will be quite scary.

The ground based version of that laser system has already be validated as an indirect fire point defense system capable of engaging artillery and mortar rounds inbound at the rate of about 3 hits for detonation in 6 seconds.

You setup an array of these and you could turn a battalion of artillery firing warshots into a battalion of artillery firing blanks (and also setting themselves up for counterbattery fire from the airborne variant of the laser) - the response will be direct engagement of artillery assets from the air using directed energy.

If these things work anything like the tests have shown, most cannon-cockers are going to find themsevles out of a job, particularly Mortar platoons. Crew served mobile guns will be rendered obsolete because of survivability. Self-Propelled Artillery will have to "shoot and scoot" much faster than it does now in order to be survivable.

This could well lead to more disposable field artillery systems in the form of guided rockets or agile missiles to replace tube or rocket launched deadfall ordnance, or low trajectory direct/indirect fire systems (directfire-like trajectory, with a downward firing warhead), possibly able to be emplaced clandestinely and close enough to the enemy to fall below the point defense curtain.

Interesting times, indeed.

[Dr Mordrid]

The Advanced Tactical Laser can shoot a hole through armor at a range of ~9 miles and up to 100 shots using a COIL (hemical oxygen-iodine laser).

This design may be on the way to being superseded by the electric solid-state high-energy laser (HEL) being developed for use on fighters like the F-35 Lightning II, attack choppers and land vehicles like the Hummer or Stryker.

It's up to 50kw (at least) with a goal of 100kw by next year. In the F-35B (the replacement for the Harrier) the lift fan would be removed and replaced by a generator, the laser and an aiming turret(s). In choppers it's been speculated either a separate gas turbine or a PTO off the engines would drive the generator.

In land vehicles the vehicle would be converted to a high power hybrid and the weapon driven by the drives generator while parked or in battery mode. Yes, the US military is going hybrid and diesel electric in a lot of their land vehicles.