The U.S. Navy announces that it has succeeded in shooting down a drone flying at subsonic speed with a high-power laser
The U.S. Navy announced that it had succeeded in shooting down a drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) in subsonic flight at a demonstration of the high-power laser defense system ' Layered Laser Defense (LLD) ' held in February 2022. Did.
Laser Trailblazer: Navy Conducts Historic Test of New Laser Weapon System> United States Navy> News-Stories
The US Navy takes down a drone with an all-electric laser for the first time
https://interestingengineering.com/us-navy-drone-electric-laser
LLD is a system designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin that allows you to laser attack drones and missiles, track aerial threats with high-resolution telescopes, and perform combat analysis.
At a demonstration at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in February 2022, LLD's high-power laser weapons were used to shoot down drones that imaged subsonic cruise missiles in flight. ..
The drone targeted in the demonstration is painted red.
Below is a photo of the drone receiving high-power laser irradiation.
A drone that is damaged by a laser weapon and becomes incapable of flying, and descends with a parachute.
According to the Office of Naval Research, it is the first time that an object in subsonic flight has been shot down with an all-electric high-power laser weapon. A test of the ship-mounted laser weapon ' Laser Weapon System Demonstrator (LWSD) ' that adopts a solid-state laser was conducted in May 2020, but the LLD used this time is compared with the LWSD because it is an all-electric type. It is more compact and has higher output, and it is possible to track and target targets using AI.
US Navy announces successful test to shoot down drone with laser beam from warship-GIGAZINE
The US Navy's Navy Research Bureau (ONR) has been promoting the development of laser weapon systems since the 1980s. Initially, research was conducted on chemical lasers that emit lasers through chemical reactions, but chemical lasers could not solve the logistics issues associated with their operation, making it difficult to apply them to actual battles. The laser used in the LLD is a fully electric laser that operates entirely on electricity. Therefore, the US Navy says that it will work if electricity continues to be supplied even on the ship, and it is safe because it does not use gunpowder or chemical substances.
'Innovative laser systems like the LLD have the potential to redefine the future of the Navy's combat activities,' said Maj. Gen. Laurin C. Selby of the US Navy. Former Navy Captain David Kiel, Program Officer of ONR's Department of Aviation, Power Projection and Integrated Defense, said, 'LDD is an example of a very advanced laser system to eliminate a serious threat to the Navy. The Navy will continue to work on the results of this demonstration. '
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