Death rays
At the end of the XIX century there was a real breakthrough in science and technology. The discoveries of the outstanding scientists of the "Victorian era" finally began to bear fruit in the form of innovations that changed the way of life before our eyes. Electricity, radio communications, aeronautics, internal combustion engines made the lives of millions of people more comfortable. However, every invention has two uses. The same technical innovations can be used to wage war and in this case will bring untold suffering ...
Archimedes' suicidal mirrors
One of the tasks that European and American scientists who were working at the end of the 19th century set for themselves was the implementation of energy transmission over a distance without the use of wires.
What could give such a technology? First of all, it would save on the creation of endless power lines, which in the twentieth century enmeshed the whole world. Then it would be possible to transfer energy from the base source to transport and build powerful ships and airplanes, not burdened by engines.
It was suggested and another application. If you generate and transmit a large amount of energy to one point, located, say, in the capital of a hostile state, then you can cause a powerful explosion there. And if we succeed in creating a sufficiently compact apparatus that allows directing focused energy to enemy targets, at least within the direct line of sight, the newest armies of the world will appear weaponwhich will fundamentally change the tactics of warfare. Accordingly, whoever has time before, he will be the winner in the coming world war, which at the beginning of the twentieth century seemed inevitable.
According to legend, the first attempt was made by the Greek scientist Archimedes. The classics of ancient historiography: Polybius, Livius and Plutarch - in their descriptions of the siege by the Romans allied Carthaginians of Syracuse (211 year BC) do not report on the use of some unusual weapon by the Archimedes. However, the Greek writer Lucian (II century AD) cites quite curious information about this. According to Lucian, Archimedes built a hexagonal mirror made up of small quadrangular mirrors. Each of these mirrors was hinged and set in motion by a chain drive. The angles of rotation of the mirrors could be chosen in such a way that the reflected sunlight would be focused at a point located within the distance of the arrow's flight from the mirror. With the help of his system of mirrors, Archimedes set fire to the ships of the Romans. This plot delighted the scientists of the Renaissance and continues to stir the souls of modern historians of technology.
So, in 1973, the Greek scientist Ioanis Sakas decided to experimentally confirm the reality of the feat of Archimedes. He ranked seventy sailors with bronze-coated mirrors one and a half meters in size and directed the rays of the mirrors to a wooden ship. From a distance of 50 meters the vessel flashed after three minutes.
In October, students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tried to reproduce the same experience in 2005 of the engineering competition 2.009. They took a simpler path than Sakas. For a start, they put a flat mirror with an area of 0,1 м2, and at a distance of 30 meters from it - a target. Evaluating the intensity of the light flux using a trial, the experimenters purchased 129 square mirror tiles with a side in 30 centimeters, the light hares from which were supposed to destroy the "Roman ship" - a wooden model a little more than 3 meters in length.
The first attempt to burn the target was made on 30 September 2005, but was unsuccessful. Students showed poor coherence in the direction of their mirrors to the target. Light hares ran on the model and did not want to connect in one spot. In addition, light clouds reduced the flow rate. Then the mirrors were transferred to the roof of one of the garages of the institute and began to wait for a sunny day. Such came the 4 of October. This time they decided to change their tactics. In the center of the arc of mirrors placed one mirror, which gave the X-shaped sunbeam - a “sight”. All mirrors are veil. Students opened them in turn and manually aimed at the desired point. Then - again closed. With targeting managed to cope in ten minutes. They removed all the "curtains", and almost immediately from the lit spot went smoke. A temperature of at least 593 ° C was reached in the light spot. Thus, the possibility of using the “rays” of Archimedes to destroy the wooden ships of the enemy was proved.
Skeptics, however, believe that the legend of the use of mirrors by Archimedes in order to set fire to the enemy fleet was invented much later, since this project was technically impossible in the ancient era.
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On the eve of the First World War, both scientists and novelists writing about the future tried to imagine a weapon similar to the heat rays of Archimedes.
In April, 1897, the popular London magazine Pirsons Magazine, began publishing a new novel by the famous prose writer HG Wells War of the Worlds. Perhaps this is really the best of all that is written by Wells. Only the “War of the Worlds” he ventured to send Leo Tolstoy when the literary maestro expressed a desire to familiarize himself with the work of the young Englishman. It was War of the Worlds that became Wells’s first work translated in Russia, and the novel was published in Russian the same year as the original language.
Wells tells history about how the evil Martians send an expeditionary force on ten large projectiles to Earth. Having landed on our planet, invaders from Mars set up combat vehicles armed with "heat rays" against British troops. Wells describes these machines as follows (I quote from the first edition in Russian):
“Imagine a stool standing on three shiny, articulated, metal legs, tall with a multi-storey building, and moving, turning over with these legs, like some kind of tripod spider. You have just seen him away, deflected slightly backward, as you already see him about a hundred meters closer, leaning forward and with two legs raised into the air for the next step. The whole car stepped through the forest. Copper shiny head, sitting on a tripod, turned in all directions, obviously, looking for something and directing movement. Behind the tripod and just below his head was a large basket of white metal rods, from which, just like from all joints, periodically popped clouds of greenish smoke. In one of its articulated paws, the tripod held something like a box from which a beam of weak light escaped, moving from place to place. Suddenly, this beam fell on a group of people, on bushes and trees, standing in the distance behind this group, on the bare ground, which was under them, and everything he fell on immediately ignited, reaching the heat of the white heat, emitting a blinding light Scientists have not decided what the lethal weapon of the Martians actually consisted of. Most suggested that they were able to somehow produce and concentrate invisible heat rays in an absolutely non-conductive heat chamber. These heat rays, reflected by a parabolic reflector, like the light rays reflecting on the lighthouses, the Martians inside the tripod head, probably passed through some kind of biconvex lens with a focus, arbitrarily distant and approaching, which was directed to any object to be destroyed. All the objects on which this beam was directed were destroyed by fire: vegetable and animal tissues burned, lead and even glass melted to a completely liquid state, steel became soft, and water even in the surface of its large containers (rivers, lakes, seas) , instantly turned into steam.
The spectacle is really terrible, and it is not surprising that the image of terrible tripods with invisible but withering rays was remembered by the readers for a long time.
However, HG Wells not only described the horrors of the coming war using the most fantastic means of destruction - he formulated a kind of "technical task" from which those who assumed such "death rays" could build.
Mystery heat weapons
At the dawn of the twentieth century, many of the scientists naively believed that the appearance of an all-destroying weapon in one of the states (or a group of people) would forever abolish wars.
Mikhail Mikhailovich Filippov, Doctor of Natural Philosophy, the publisher of the Scientific Review journal, popular in academic circles, believed this. In the last years of his life, Filippov was actively engaged in physico-technical and pyrotechnic studies. What problem the eminent scientist was solving is known from his letter received by the editorial office of the newspaper St. Petersburg Vedomosti 11 of June (old style) 1903 of the year.
"In early youth,- wrote Filippov, - I read at Boklya that the invention of gunpowder made wars less bloody. Since then, I was haunted by the idea of the possibility of such an invention that would make war almost impossible. Surprisingly, but the other day I made a discovery, the practical development of which will actually abolish the war. We are talking about the method of electrical transmission that I invented over a distance of an explosion wave, and, judging by the method used, this transmission is also possible over a distance of thousands of kilometers, so by making an explosion in Petersburg, it will be possible to transfer its operation to Constantinople. The way is amazingly simple and cheap. But with such warfare at the distances I indicated, war actually becomes insane and must be abolished. I will publish the details in the fall in the memoirs of the Academy of Sciences ... "
The letter was sent to the editorial office of the newspaper 11 June, and the next day Filippov was found dead in his home laboratory.
The widow of a scientist, Lyubov Ivanovna Filippova, said: on the eve of his death, Mikhail Mikhailovich warned his family that he would work for a long time, and asked to wake him no earlier than noon. No noise or explosion on that fateful night was heard by the family. Exactly at noon they went to wake up. The door to the lab was locked. They knocked and, without hearing an answer, broke down the door. Filippov lay prone in a pool of blood.
The police searched the laboratory of Filippov. But she did it hastily. Even medical experts disagreed strongly on the reasons for Filippov’s death.
Meanwhile, rumors of a mysterious invention spread throughout the capital. Professor Trachevsky gave a particularly interesting interview to Petersburg Vedomosti. Three days before the death of the scientist, they met and talked.
“To me as a historian - said Trachevsky, - M.M. I could tell about my intention only in the most general terms. When I reminded him of the difference between theory and practice, he firmly said: "It was checked, there were experiments, and I will do it again." The essence of the secret M.M. He outlined to me approximately, as in the letter to the editor. And more than once he said, hitting his hand on the table: “It’s so easy, moreover, cheap! It's amazing how they still haven't thought of it. ” I remember, MM He added that this was somewhat approached in America, but in a completely different and unfortunate way. ”
The debate around the mysterious discovery of Filippov gradually subsided, because all the devices and manuscripts of Filippov were seized by the Petersburg security department during a search, after which they disappeared without a trace.
Modern authors, retelling this story in their articles, suggest that Filippov invented a chemical laser on nitrogen chloride. The laser experts, however, refute this version ...
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In 1923, sensational reports appeared in European newspapers that rays were invented in Germany that could stop the engines of airplanes and airships, cars and tanks.
This question was covered in technical journals. Thus, the Belgian commentator Duckwell came to the conclusion about the reality of such an invention and brought the following fact as an illustration: in 1908, a powerful Colorado power station was stopped due to the effects of the high-frequency instruments of the Nikola Tesla laboratory, located several kilometers from this station. The power of Tesla devices did not exceed 300 kilowatts, there was no special antenna, and the resonance that caused the failure occurred quite by accident, without malicious intent.
Reports of the latest "German weapons" were particularly concerned about France, when on its Paris-Bucharest air line there were eight (?!) Cases of motor stops over the same place in Bavaria. However, neither diplomats nor military specialists were able to prove anything ...
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After the First World War, during which, as you know, the "rays of death" were never used, the English inventor Grindell Matthews made a big fuss.
During the European massacre, this man earned himself a reputation as a patriot, whose inventions helped strengthen the defensive might of Britain. The budget of his projects amounted to 25 thousand pounds. Mettuz introduced the installation, designed to stop any war, to the Ministry of Defense in 1924. Representatives of the press were also invited to this demonstration. One of them wrote in his report:
“The room was located apparatus connected to the mains. A vase with a handful of gunpowder was placed a few meters away. The inventor fiddled with some kind of levers, a buzz was heard, then a “bluish ray” escaped from the apparatus, similar to a flash of a tropical lightning, and the gunpowder immediately caught fire ... I stopped ... "
Different sources report on these demonstrations various information, but, summing them up, we can confidently say what the Mettiuza installation was capable of. So, the mysterious rays of Mettiuza upset the ignition and stopped the work of a small gasoline engine at a distance of 15 meters. The rays ignited the powder, and passed through the glass with a thickness of three inches. The rays made the light bulb shine on the path of their propagation. Rays could kill a small animal — for example, a mouse or a rabbit.
Matthews told the representatives of the English press that he intends to move to the tests of his invention on a large scale in the open air and hopes to transmit "ray energy" over a long distance.
Later, a message appeared in the press that it was possible to stop the engines of automobiles and airplanes, blow up explosive depots and projectiles, disarming a potential enemy, using the rays of Mettjus.
The inventor presented a serial combat installation in the form of a large searchlight, on the sides of which it was supposed to install three "ray generators". From the generators, the rays are sent to the “mysterious box” (as Metteuz himself called him). From the box, energy rushes into space and can be directed to any object. When working at night, the rays can be made visible and used for two purposes: lighting and extermination. According to preliminary calculations for the device "beam barriers" around London would require at least three million pounds sterling.
Using the available data, specialists of that time tried to at least approximately understand the principles on which the apparatus acted. Here, for example, that the Leningrad professor Nikolay Rynin wrote about this:
“X-rays or X-rays have a very short wavelength and are not reflected by mirrors. They can have a harmful physiological effect and, like ultraviolet rays, can discharge an electrified body, ionizing its environment. Apparently, Mettiuz used the following method for his telecast: first, he directs parallel (made so by lead diaphragms) X-rays and with their help ionizes, that is, makes conductive, the medium between the apparatus and the object of attack. It is necessary to create two such conductors and transfer energy of another kind through them. However, the creation of tools for the fight against the air fleet and the enemy's manpower using this method will require very powerful installations and it is still premature to judge the reality of the Metteuse invention. ”
Obviously, senior officers of the British army agreed with Rynin. Gradually, the conversation about the rays of Mettiuza subsided. Infiltration of print pages indicated that the range of the device did not exceed several meters. The military quickly lost interest in the invention, and Metthyuz did not receive the requested money.
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However, the death rays became part of the culture. A fantastic weapon, capable of making enemy vehicles and warheads unsuitable, migrated from the pages of science fiction novels to the invention claims and back.
The Russian Russia has not escaped this fad. In 1929, the magazine Around the World published on its pages a novel by the German writer Otfried Ganstein Electropolis, which was colorfully described as a brilliant designer, using the installation of Mettiuza, neutralizes the armies of the world. And on December 13, Professor Joffe, Cherkashov and Shuleikin gathered in the office of Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Chairman of the USSR Revolutionary Military Council, to discuss the installation “Rays of Death” developed by Joffe. In fact, at the Institute of Radiology, even two installations were designed: on 1932 and 5 megavolts. The Rays of Death, according to loffe, should have mortally hit people from 10 to 300 meters. According to the results of the meeting, the Revolutionary Military Council decided to work on the "rays of death" in the State Physical-Technological Institute. Supervision over works was assigned to comrades Ordzhonikidze and Yagoda. The People's Commissar Voroshilov even prepared a special report on the "death rays" to the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Molotov. The outcome of this work is not known. But, most likely, nothing significant. The field installation required too much an electric generator - in fact, a separate power station would have to be built next to it.
The requirement of high power concentration and the high cost of the installation ruined in a germ other projects of the “death rays”. Now only the most general information is preserved about them.
Here, for example, is a letter from 10 December 1933 of the year addressed to the Deputy People's Commissar of Heavy Industry, Ivan Pavlunovsky, with the addition “Personally”. A Moscow inventor Baranov proposed to adopt an electromagnetic installation for capturing shells. By the letter attached drawing. The essence of the invention was to place several super-powerful magnets around our artillery battery, which would deflect enemy shells in the direction, while the battery became invulnerable.
But no less interesting project of a certain Smirnov on the creation of radiation weapons. Only this time, the emission of ultrashort waves should not have killed people, but only turned off the engines of enemy aircraft. The following mechanism of influence was assumed: the radiation should have created resonant currents in the ignition system and put the aircraft with petrol engines out of operation. Ground tests of the pilot plant were even conducted. And indeed, at a distance of the order of 20-30 meters, it was possible to stop the engine of an airplane standing on the ground. However, it was almost impossible to influence the aircraft from a distance of several kilometers (which was required in the technical task), and the topic was quickly closed ...
Hyperboloids on the battlefield
The technology of the first half of the twentieth century did not allow the creation of a system at all reminiscent of those "rays of death" or "heat rays" that science fiction writers wrote about and scientists thought. The new weapon was never used on the battlefields of either the First or the Second World War.
The first optical quantum generator, whose properties resembled the notorious “death rays” devices, was built by the American scientist Theodor Meiman in 1960 year. The physical phenomenon on which the principle of operation of the generator is based, in English, is called “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”, which translates as “the amplification of light waves by stimulated radiation”. According to the initial letters of the words included in this difficult name, the optical quantum oscillator is called laser.
Lasers are widely used: from microsurgery to stellar astronomy, from home appliances to astronautics. And, of course, they are used as weapons. At the same time, the most powerful installations are aimed at hitting enemy projectiles, airplanes and missiles right in flight, precisely meeting the requirements put forward by death rays in the early twentieth century.
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The hero snatches a rifle and bullets out of it with a blinding beam. The enemy flies a few meters away, falls and dies, clothes are smoking on it.
In one way or almost the same way, space wars from Star Wars killed each other. Beam guns are generally one of the most popular in Hollywood science fiction films. And, apparently, it did not give rest to the US military.
As a result, having spent twelve years and about three billion dollars, they turned "interstellar" fiction into reality. Experimental models of combat "luchemetov" have already appeared and soon they will put into service.
The project to create a beam rifle is called "Pulsed Energy Bullet". Specialists in lasers from the Los Alamos laboratory and the military company Mission Research are involved in the development. Deadly force and other parameters of the weapon are still kept secret.
Recently, Harry Moore from the command of armored vehicles and armaments of the US Army in response to numerous requests said: we are talking about a special chemical laser that shoots very short pulses. The released laser beam begins to literally “evaporate” an object that has fallen into its path. In the area of the beam, plasma arises, which heats the surrounding air so quickly that it explodes. In the course of experienced firing, the military destroyed the mannequins in body armor, even from a distance of three kilometers!
“If a laser pulse falls into a person’s mouth or nose, the lungs will rip
, Says Jürgen Altman, a physicist at the University of Dortmund and an expert on advanced weapons. -
If in the eye, it will burst, first turning into a plasma. And it is unlikely that the brain will survive. And if the power of the current "bullet" is only doubled, then it will be fatal in all cases, wherever it gets ... "
In the US, a more humane version is also being developed - the stunning "directed energy weapon", which, according to its creator Peter Schlesinger, is capable of exerting not only a paralyzing effect on the enemy's manpower, but can also disable the electronics of missiles, roadside bombs, and transport funds during the chase at high speed.
And in the Air Force Research Laboratory in New Mexico, scientists create a weapon called the Active Denial System (ADS): it “drives away” enemies by heating water molecules in their skin with microwave energy. The pain caused by this is so strong that people run away in a panic.
"It seems that your skin is starting to burn, - explains Rich Garcia, a spokesman for the laboratory, who participated in the testing of new weapons and tried his action on himself. - When you leave the radius of the beam, or the beam turns, everything returns to normal. No residual pain "
An ADS weapon mounted on a combat jeep will be provided to all US law enforcement agencies for experimental evaluation. Perhaps soon they will become widespread.
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However, the most tempting so far seems to be the use of powerful combat lasers to destroy enemy missiles.
So, in the framework of the program of creating the National Missile Defense (NMD), which is now very fond of in America, it is proposed to use a whole set of lasers installed on satellites and airplanes.
Back in September, the Boeing and Lockheed firms of 1992 received contracts for the technical definition of the most appropriate existing aircraft for the Airborne Combat Airborne Laser (ABL) project. Both teams came to the same conclusion, recommending the US Air Force to use the time-tested heavy Boeing 747 as the platform for this system.
In November, the United States Air Force 1996 entered into a 1,1 billion-dollar contract with Boeing, Lockheed and TRV (TRW) for the development and flight tests of the weapons system as part of this project.
10 August 1999 of the year the assembly of the first Boeing 747-400F aircraft for ABL began. And on January 6 2001, the YAL-1A made its first flight from the Everett city airfield.
The basis of the ABL armament system is the iodine-oxygen chemical laser developed by TRV. High-energy laser (HEL - High-Energy Laser) has a modular design; To reduce weight, it uses the latest plastics, composites and titanium alloys.
The laser is mounted in the 46 section on the main deck of the aircraft. To ensure strength, thermal and chemical stability under the laser, two titanium panels of the lower fuselage skin are installed. The laser beam is transmitted to the nose turret through a special tube passing through the upper part of the fuselage through all bulkheads. Shooting is carried out with a bow turret weighing about 6,3 tons. It can rotate 150 ° around the horizontal axis, tracking the target. The beam is focused on the target by a 1.5 meter mirror, which has an azimuth viewing sector in 120 °.
Tests of an airborne laser codenamed “First Light” began in November 2004 of the year and continue to this day. It was assumed that, if successful, three more such aircraft would be launched, and by 2008 the year - an air defense system would take up combat duty: a fleet of seven aircraft would be able to localize the threat in 24 hours anywhere in the world. However, the developers suddenly started having problems: the congressmen reduced funding for promising military projects and the ABL project suffered the most from this reduction. Nevertheless, the prototype already flies and even shoots, and the tests in conditions close to the combat must take place before the end of 2009.
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Comparing the various projects of combat lasers, you come to an amazing conclusion. It turns out that in this area, Russian experts once again were "ahead of the rest."
A mobile laser complex for the destruction of enemy satellites and ballistic missiles was created in Soviet times by the efforts of the design team of the Trinity Institute for Innovative and Thermonuclear Research in the Moscow region.
The base of the complex is a 1 megawatt carbon laser. The complex is based on two platforms created from serial trailers of the Chelyabinsk plant. The first platform houses a laser radiation generator including an optical resonator unit and a gas discharge chamber. It also sets up a beam forming and guidance system. Nearby is the control cabin, from where the software or manual guidance is carried out on the target and focus. On the second platform there are elements of the gas-dynamic path: aviation P29-300 turbojet engine, which has developed its flight resource, but still able to serve as an energy source; ejectors, exhaust and sound attenuation devices, a container for liquefied carbon dioxide, a fuel tank with aviation kerosene.
Each platform is equipped with its own KrAZ truck and is transported to almost any place it can go. Upon arrival at the place is enough two or three hours to bring the entire system in working condition.
When it turned out that this complex would not be used as a weapon, a team of specialists from the Trinity Institute, together with colleagues from the Almaz Scientific and Production Association, the Efremov Electrophysical Instrument Research Institute and the State-owned Small Innovative Enterprise Conversion, developed a laser technological complex "MLTK-50". This complex showed excellent results in extinguishing a fire in a gas well in Karachayevsk, breaking up a rocky massif, in decontaminating the concrete surface at a nuclear power plant by peeling, burning out a film of oil on the surface of the water area.
There are also more exotic areas of application for MLTK-50.
Imagine the powerful turbine of a large power plant. It weighs from 150 to 200 tons, and the dimensions are appropriate. So the transportation of such turbines is always a problem of particular complexity. And then it turns out that the turbine has developed its resource - more precisely, it could still work, but the bearing surfaces began to wear off. What to do? Designers offer to deliver a simplified version of the “MLTC” directly to the machine room of the power plant and use it to carry out laser spraying, restoring worn surfaces.
Another idea is no less original: with the help of a laser you can effectively deal with agricultural pests: for example, with a cotton or tobacco scoop. Typically, these parasites are struggling with chemicals - our experts have proposed a different way. It looks like this. Late in the evening, a gazelle microtruck arrives at the fields. First turn on the spotlight with a special filter that attracts the scoop. And when she takes off, the midges hit by clouds with a laser beam. A similar method can be used against the infamous locust.
However, the current installation no longer suits its creators. It seems to them too bulky. The new model that is being worked on today will consist of several standard containers that can be shipped both by water, air and rail. And in case of emergency, the helicopter on the external sling will deliver the installation to the right place in a matter of hours ...
Laser weapon against terrorists
Similar mobile installations were created in the USA. But for some reason, Americans are in no hurry to carry out conversion in this area and turn their “death rays” from a weapon into a device for the destruction of insects or the restoration of bearings.
A high-energy tactical laser (THEL - Tactical High-Energy Laser) on mobile platforms is being developed as part of the Nautilus program, commissioned by the Space and Strategic Command of the US Army and the Ministry of Defense of Israel. The main task of the THEL laser is to intercept and destroy short-range ballistic missiles in flight. THEL is directly involved in the development and manufacture of the American company TRV, which specializes in high-energy lasers, and the Israeli firm Raphael, which manufactures aviation equipment together with Boeing. In this case, the Pentagon took over the allocation of 89 million dollars, and the Israeli Ministry of Defense - 59,5 million dollars.
Funding for the project began in 1995, when TRN allocated 2,5 million dollars. Israel has added 600 thousands to this sum, taking on the preparation of the vehicle, the technical staff and training objectives. Israel’s interest in this project is clear: the laser facility must protect Israel’s borders from Iraq’s missiles and Hezbollah missiles.
MIRACL, an infrared chemical laser operating on a mixture of deuterium and fluorine gases, was chosen as a prototype for THEL. Of particular interest to this mixture is the fact that the rays generated by it are practically not absorbed by the atmosphere. It has been reported that MIRACL reaches 2,2 megawatts in the beam. As a device for targeting and monitoring, the equipment used was Sea Light (“Sea Lite”), built sometime for advanced laser systems that protect warships from enemy missiles.
The new laser and the Nautilus project guidance system were first tested together at the White Sands (New Mexico) test site in February 1996. The laser worked for 15 seconds, and when tested, according to Pentagon officials, it was not brought to full capacity. However, the energy that he emitted was enough to undermine the rocket systems of the BM-13 (Katyusha) and the BM-21 (Grad) multiple rocket launchers. Specialists of the company "TPV" proved the realism of their project and received funding in full.
As a result, a whole complex was created consisting of three main systems: a laser, a tracking and target designation device and a command and control center provided with communications and control computers. In June, the 2000 of the year at the same proving ground, the system demonstrated its high efficiency, shooting down several Katyush shells in flight. Two years later, in November 2002 of the year, an artillery shell was shot down — much smaller and moving at a tremendous speed. At the moment, the selection of machines for the transportation of the entire installation over long distances. It is assumed that after a slight revision the laser can be transported using standard military armored vehicles.
Serial installation should appear in the coming years. Israel intends to order three fixed and thirteen mobile installations to protect its borders. And the US military, in turn, is going to expand the capabilities of the installation in order to intercept guided bombs, missiles or even enemy aircraft in flight. According to the calculations of the Pentagon, the invisible "death rays" will become part of the deployed National Missile Defense, as well as serve to combat international terrorism ...
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In turn, after the emergence of a real threat of terrorist attacks against civilian aircraft, Russian designers proposed using a ready-made laser system in aviation that could shoot down missiles of portable Igla or Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. This was stated by one of the creators of the national missile weapons - Doctor of Technical Sciences Yuri Sizov.
According to him, "the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation has at its disposal effective anti-missile defense technologies for military aircraft in the near zone." If necessary, these projects can be used to ensure the safety of passenger aircraft.
According to Sizov, promising missile defense systems for civil aviation aircraft "should, as a rule, include several airborne and ground-based radars that search for targets in the airspace along the route of the aircraft." If the aircraft is attacked from the ground, then the missile guidance system of the portable anti-aircraft missile system is suppressed by powerful radiation from the onboard ABM system. In this case, all actions to protect the aircraft are carried out automatically. The cost of such a system should not exceed a million dollars.
Archimedes' suicidal mirrors
One of the tasks that European and American scientists who were working at the end of the 19th century set for themselves was the implementation of energy transmission over a distance without the use of wires.
What could give such a technology? First of all, it would save on the creation of endless power lines, which in the twentieth century enmeshed the whole world. Then it would be possible to transfer energy from the base source to transport and build powerful ships and airplanes, not burdened by engines.
It was suggested and another application. If you generate and transmit a large amount of energy to one point, located, say, in the capital of a hostile state, then you can cause a powerful explosion there. And if we succeed in creating a sufficiently compact apparatus that allows directing focused energy to enemy targets, at least within the direct line of sight, the newest armies of the world will appear weaponwhich will fundamentally change the tactics of warfare. Accordingly, whoever has time before, he will be the winner in the coming world war, which at the beginning of the twentieth century seemed inevitable.
According to legend, the first attempt was made by the Greek scientist Archimedes. The classics of ancient historiography: Polybius, Livius and Plutarch - in their descriptions of the siege by the Romans allied Carthaginians of Syracuse (211 year BC) do not report on the use of some unusual weapon by the Archimedes. However, the Greek writer Lucian (II century AD) cites quite curious information about this. According to Lucian, Archimedes built a hexagonal mirror made up of small quadrangular mirrors. Each of these mirrors was hinged and set in motion by a chain drive. The angles of rotation of the mirrors could be chosen in such a way that the reflected sunlight would be focused at a point located within the distance of the arrow's flight from the mirror. With the help of his system of mirrors, Archimedes set fire to the ships of the Romans. This plot delighted the scientists of the Renaissance and continues to stir the souls of modern historians of technology.
So, in 1973, the Greek scientist Ioanis Sakas decided to experimentally confirm the reality of the feat of Archimedes. He ranked seventy sailors with bronze-coated mirrors one and a half meters in size and directed the rays of the mirrors to a wooden ship. From a distance of 50 meters the vessel flashed after three minutes.
In October, students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tried to reproduce the same experience in 2005 of the engineering competition 2.009. They took a simpler path than Sakas. For a start, they put a flat mirror with an area of 0,1 м2, and at a distance of 30 meters from it - a target. Evaluating the intensity of the light flux using a trial, the experimenters purchased 129 square mirror tiles with a side in 30 centimeters, the light hares from which were supposed to destroy the "Roman ship" - a wooden model a little more than 3 meters in length.
The first attempt to burn the target was made on 30 September 2005, but was unsuccessful. Students showed poor coherence in the direction of their mirrors to the target. Light hares ran on the model and did not want to connect in one spot. In addition, light clouds reduced the flow rate. Then the mirrors were transferred to the roof of one of the garages of the institute and began to wait for a sunny day. Such came the 4 of October. This time they decided to change their tactics. In the center of the arc of mirrors placed one mirror, which gave the X-shaped sunbeam - a “sight”. All mirrors are veil. Students opened them in turn and manually aimed at the desired point. Then - again closed. With targeting managed to cope in ten minutes. They removed all the "curtains", and almost immediately from the lit spot went smoke. A temperature of at least 593 ° C was reached in the light spot. Thus, the possibility of using the “rays” of Archimedes to destroy the wooden ships of the enemy was proved.
Skeptics, however, believe that the legend of the use of mirrors by Archimedes in order to set fire to the enemy fleet was invented much later, since this project was technically impossible in the ancient era.
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On the eve of the First World War, both scientists and novelists writing about the future tried to imagine a weapon similar to the heat rays of Archimedes.
In April, 1897, the popular London magazine Pirsons Magazine, began publishing a new novel by the famous prose writer HG Wells War of the Worlds. Perhaps this is really the best of all that is written by Wells. Only the “War of the Worlds” he ventured to send Leo Tolstoy when the literary maestro expressed a desire to familiarize himself with the work of the young Englishman. It was War of the Worlds that became Wells’s first work translated in Russia, and the novel was published in Russian the same year as the original language.
Wells tells history about how the evil Martians send an expeditionary force on ten large projectiles to Earth. Having landed on our planet, invaders from Mars set up combat vehicles armed with "heat rays" against British troops. Wells describes these machines as follows (I quote from the first edition in Russian):
“Imagine a stool standing on three shiny, articulated, metal legs, tall with a multi-storey building, and moving, turning over with these legs, like some kind of tripod spider. You have just seen him away, deflected slightly backward, as you already see him about a hundred meters closer, leaning forward and with two legs raised into the air for the next step. The whole car stepped through the forest. Copper shiny head, sitting on a tripod, turned in all directions, obviously, looking for something and directing movement. Behind the tripod and just below his head was a large basket of white metal rods, from which, just like from all joints, periodically popped clouds of greenish smoke. In one of its articulated paws, the tripod held something like a box from which a beam of weak light escaped, moving from place to place. Suddenly, this beam fell on a group of people, on bushes and trees, standing in the distance behind this group, on the bare ground, which was under them, and everything he fell on immediately ignited, reaching the heat of the white heat, emitting a blinding light Scientists have not decided what the lethal weapon of the Martians actually consisted of. Most suggested that they were able to somehow produce and concentrate invisible heat rays in an absolutely non-conductive heat chamber. These heat rays, reflected by a parabolic reflector, like the light rays reflecting on the lighthouses, the Martians inside the tripod head, probably passed through some kind of biconvex lens with a focus, arbitrarily distant and approaching, which was directed to any object to be destroyed. All the objects on which this beam was directed were destroyed by fire: vegetable and animal tissues burned, lead and even glass melted to a completely liquid state, steel became soft, and water even in the surface of its large containers (rivers, lakes, seas) , instantly turned into steam.
The spectacle is really terrible, and it is not surprising that the image of terrible tripods with invisible but withering rays was remembered by the readers for a long time.
However, HG Wells not only described the horrors of the coming war using the most fantastic means of destruction - he formulated a kind of "technical task" from which those who assumed such "death rays" could build.
Mystery heat weapons
At the dawn of the twentieth century, many of the scientists naively believed that the appearance of an all-destroying weapon in one of the states (or a group of people) would forever abolish wars.
Mikhail Mikhailovich Filippov, Doctor of Natural Philosophy, the publisher of the Scientific Review journal, popular in academic circles, believed this. In the last years of his life, Filippov was actively engaged in physico-technical and pyrotechnic studies. What problem the eminent scientist was solving is known from his letter received by the editorial office of the newspaper St. Petersburg Vedomosti 11 of June (old style) 1903 of the year.
"In early youth,- wrote Filippov, - I read at Boklya that the invention of gunpowder made wars less bloody. Since then, I was haunted by the idea of the possibility of such an invention that would make war almost impossible. Surprisingly, but the other day I made a discovery, the practical development of which will actually abolish the war. We are talking about the method of electrical transmission that I invented over a distance of an explosion wave, and, judging by the method used, this transmission is also possible over a distance of thousands of kilometers, so by making an explosion in Petersburg, it will be possible to transfer its operation to Constantinople. The way is amazingly simple and cheap. But with such warfare at the distances I indicated, war actually becomes insane and must be abolished. I will publish the details in the fall in the memoirs of the Academy of Sciences ... "The letter was sent to the editorial office of the newspaper 11 June, and the next day Filippov was found dead in his home laboratory.
The widow of a scientist, Lyubov Ivanovna Filippova, said: on the eve of his death, Mikhail Mikhailovich warned his family that he would work for a long time, and asked to wake him no earlier than noon. No noise or explosion on that fateful night was heard by the family. Exactly at noon they went to wake up. The door to the lab was locked. They knocked and, without hearing an answer, broke down the door. Filippov lay prone in a pool of blood.
The police searched the laboratory of Filippov. But she did it hastily. Even medical experts disagreed strongly on the reasons for Filippov’s death.
Meanwhile, rumors of a mysterious invention spread throughout the capital. Professor Trachevsky gave a particularly interesting interview to Petersburg Vedomosti. Three days before the death of the scientist, they met and talked.
“To me as a historian - said Trachevsky, - M.M. I could tell about my intention only in the most general terms. When I reminded him of the difference between theory and practice, he firmly said: "It was checked, there were experiments, and I will do it again." The essence of the secret M.M. He outlined to me approximately, as in the letter to the editor. And more than once he said, hitting his hand on the table: “It’s so easy, moreover, cheap! It's amazing how they still haven't thought of it. ” I remember, MM He added that this was somewhat approached in America, but in a completely different and unfortunate way. ”
The debate around the mysterious discovery of Filippov gradually subsided, because all the devices and manuscripts of Filippov were seized by the Petersburg security department during a search, after which they disappeared without a trace.
Modern authors, retelling this story in their articles, suggest that Filippov invented a chemical laser on nitrogen chloride. The laser experts, however, refute this version ...
* * *
In 1923, sensational reports appeared in European newspapers that rays were invented in Germany that could stop the engines of airplanes and airships, cars and tanks.
This question was covered in technical journals. Thus, the Belgian commentator Duckwell came to the conclusion about the reality of such an invention and brought the following fact as an illustration: in 1908, a powerful Colorado power station was stopped due to the effects of the high-frequency instruments of the Nikola Tesla laboratory, located several kilometers from this station. The power of Tesla devices did not exceed 300 kilowatts, there was no special antenna, and the resonance that caused the failure occurred quite by accident, without malicious intent.
Reports of the latest "German weapons" were particularly concerned about France, when on its Paris-Bucharest air line there were eight (?!) Cases of motor stops over the same place in Bavaria. However, neither diplomats nor military specialists were able to prove anything ...
* * *
After the First World War, during which, as you know, the "rays of death" were never used, the English inventor Grindell Matthews made a big fuss.
During the European massacre, this man earned himself a reputation as a patriot, whose inventions helped strengthen the defensive might of Britain. The budget of his projects amounted to 25 thousand pounds. Mettuz introduced the installation, designed to stop any war, to the Ministry of Defense in 1924. Representatives of the press were also invited to this demonstration. One of them wrote in his report:
“The room was located apparatus connected to the mains. A vase with a handful of gunpowder was placed a few meters away. The inventor fiddled with some kind of levers, a buzz was heard, then a “bluish ray” escaped from the apparatus, similar to a flash of a tropical lightning, and the gunpowder immediately caught fire ... I stopped ... "
Different sources report on these demonstrations various information, but, summing them up, we can confidently say what the Mettiuza installation was capable of. So, the mysterious rays of Mettiuza upset the ignition and stopped the work of a small gasoline engine at a distance of 15 meters. The rays ignited the powder, and passed through the glass with a thickness of three inches. The rays made the light bulb shine on the path of their propagation. Rays could kill a small animal — for example, a mouse or a rabbit.
Matthews told the representatives of the English press that he intends to move to the tests of his invention on a large scale in the open air and hopes to transmit "ray energy" over a long distance.
Later, a message appeared in the press that it was possible to stop the engines of automobiles and airplanes, blow up explosive depots and projectiles, disarming a potential enemy, using the rays of Mettjus.
The inventor presented a serial combat installation in the form of a large searchlight, on the sides of which it was supposed to install three "ray generators". From the generators, the rays are sent to the “mysterious box” (as Metteuz himself called him). From the box, energy rushes into space and can be directed to any object. When working at night, the rays can be made visible and used for two purposes: lighting and extermination. According to preliminary calculations for the device "beam barriers" around London would require at least three million pounds sterling.
Using the available data, specialists of that time tried to at least approximately understand the principles on which the apparatus acted. Here, for example, that the Leningrad professor Nikolay Rynin wrote about this:
“X-rays or X-rays have a very short wavelength and are not reflected by mirrors. They can have a harmful physiological effect and, like ultraviolet rays, can discharge an electrified body, ionizing its environment. Apparently, Mettiuz used the following method for his telecast: first, he directs parallel (made so by lead diaphragms) X-rays and with their help ionizes, that is, makes conductive, the medium between the apparatus and the object of attack. It is necessary to create two such conductors and transfer energy of another kind through them. However, the creation of tools for the fight against the air fleet and the enemy's manpower using this method will require very powerful installations and it is still premature to judge the reality of the Metteuse invention. ”
Obviously, senior officers of the British army agreed with Rynin. Gradually, the conversation about the rays of Mettiuza subsided. Infiltration of print pages indicated that the range of the device did not exceed several meters. The military quickly lost interest in the invention, and Metthyuz did not receive the requested money.
* * *
However, the death rays became part of the culture. A fantastic weapon, capable of making enemy vehicles and warheads unsuitable, migrated from the pages of science fiction novels to the invention claims and back.
The Russian Russia has not escaped this fad. In 1929, the magazine Around the World published on its pages a novel by the German writer Otfried Ganstein Electropolis, which was colorfully described as a brilliant designer, using the installation of Mettiuza, neutralizes the armies of the world. And on December 13, Professor Joffe, Cherkashov and Shuleikin gathered in the office of Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Chairman of the USSR Revolutionary Military Council, to discuss the installation “Rays of Death” developed by Joffe. In fact, at the Institute of Radiology, even two installations were designed: on 1932 and 5 megavolts. The Rays of Death, according to loffe, should have mortally hit people from 10 to 300 meters. According to the results of the meeting, the Revolutionary Military Council decided to work on the "rays of death" in the State Physical-Technological Institute. Supervision over works was assigned to comrades Ordzhonikidze and Yagoda. The People's Commissar Voroshilov even prepared a special report on the "death rays" to the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Molotov. The outcome of this work is not known. But, most likely, nothing significant. The field installation required too much an electric generator - in fact, a separate power station would have to be built next to it.
The requirement of high power concentration and the high cost of the installation ruined in a germ other projects of the “death rays”. Now only the most general information is preserved about them.
Here, for example, is a letter from 10 December 1933 of the year addressed to the Deputy People's Commissar of Heavy Industry, Ivan Pavlunovsky, with the addition “Personally”. A Moscow inventor Baranov proposed to adopt an electromagnetic installation for capturing shells. By the letter attached drawing. The essence of the invention was to place several super-powerful magnets around our artillery battery, which would deflect enemy shells in the direction, while the battery became invulnerable.
But no less interesting project of a certain Smirnov on the creation of radiation weapons. Only this time, the emission of ultrashort waves should not have killed people, but only turned off the engines of enemy aircraft. The following mechanism of influence was assumed: the radiation should have created resonant currents in the ignition system and put the aircraft with petrol engines out of operation. Ground tests of the pilot plant were even conducted. And indeed, at a distance of the order of 20-30 meters, it was possible to stop the engine of an airplane standing on the ground. However, it was almost impossible to influence the aircraft from a distance of several kilometers (which was required in the technical task), and the topic was quickly closed ...
Hyperboloids on the battlefield
The technology of the first half of the twentieth century did not allow the creation of a system at all reminiscent of those "rays of death" or "heat rays" that science fiction writers wrote about and scientists thought. The new weapon was never used on the battlefields of either the First or the Second World War.
The first optical quantum generator, whose properties resembled the notorious “death rays” devices, was built by the American scientist Theodor Meiman in 1960 year. The physical phenomenon on which the principle of operation of the generator is based, in English, is called “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”, which translates as “the amplification of light waves by stimulated radiation”. According to the initial letters of the words included in this difficult name, the optical quantum oscillator is called laser.
Lasers are widely used: from microsurgery to stellar astronomy, from home appliances to astronautics. And, of course, they are used as weapons. At the same time, the most powerful installations are aimed at hitting enemy projectiles, airplanes and missiles right in flight, precisely meeting the requirements put forward by death rays in the early twentieth century.
* * *
The hero snatches a rifle and bullets out of it with a blinding beam. The enemy flies a few meters away, falls and dies, clothes are smoking on it.
In one way or almost the same way, space wars from Star Wars killed each other. Beam guns are generally one of the most popular in Hollywood science fiction films. And, apparently, it did not give rest to the US military.
As a result, having spent twelve years and about three billion dollars, they turned "interstellar" fiction into reality. Experimental models of combat "luchemetov" have already appeared and soon they will put into service.
The project to create a beam rifle is called "Pulsed Energy Bullet". Specialists in lasers from the Los Alamos laboratory and the military company Mission Research are involved in the development. Deadly force and other parameters of the weapon are still kept secret.
Recently, Harry Moore from the command of armored vehicles and armaments of the US Army in response to numerous requests said: we are talking about a special chemical laser that shoots very short pulses. The released laser beam begins to literally “evaporate” an object that has fallen into its path. In the area of the beam, plasma arises, which heats the surrounding air so quickly that it explodes. In the course of experienced firing, the military destroyed the mannequins in body armor, even from a distance of three kilometers!
“If a laser pulse falls into a person’s mouth or nose, the lungs will rip
, Says Jürgen Altman, a physicist at the University of Dortmund and an expert on advanced weapons. -
If in the eye, it will burst, first turning into a plasma. And it is unlikely that the brain will survive. And if the power of the current "bullet" is only doubled, then it will be fatal in all cases, wherever it gets ... "
In the US, a more humane version is also being developed - the stunning "directed energy weapon", which, according to its creator Peter Schlesinger, is capable of exerting not only a paralyzing effect on the enemy's manpower, but can also disable the electronics of missiles, roadside bombs, and transport funds during the chase at high speed.
And in the Air Force Research Laboratory in New Mexico, scientists create a weapon called the Active Denial System (ADS): it “drives away” enemies by heating water molecules in their skin with microwave energy. The pain caused by this is so strong that people run away in a panic.
"It seems that your skin is starting to burn, - explains Rich Garcia, a spokesman for the laboratory, who participated in the testing of new weapons and tried his action on himself. - When you leave the radius of the beam, or the beam turns, everything returns to normal. No residual pain "
An ADS weapon mounted on a combat jeep will be provided to all US law enforcement agencies for experimental evaluation. Perhaps soon they will become widespread.
* * *
However, the most tempting so far seems to be the use of powerful combat lasers to destroy enemy missiles.
So, in the framework of the program of creating the National Missile Defense (NMD), which is now very fond of in America, it is proposed to use a whole set of lasers installed on satellites and airplanes.
Back in September, the Boeing and Lockheed firms of 1992 received contracts for the technical definition of the most appropriate existing aircraft for the Airborne Combat Airborne Laser (ABL) project. Both teams came to the same conclusion, recommending the US Air Force to use the time-tested heavy Boeing 747 as the platform for this system.
In November, the United States Air Force 1996 entered into a 1,1 billion-dollar contract with Boeing, Lockheed and TRV (TRW) for the development and flight tests of the weapons system as part of this project.
10 August 1999 of the year the assembly of the first Boeing 747-400F aircraft for ABL began. And on January 6 2001, the YAL-1A made its first flight from the Everett city airfield.
The basis of the ABL armament system is the iodine-oxygen chemical laser developed by TRV. High-energy laser (HEL - High-Energy Laser) has a modular design; To reduce weight, it uses the latest plastics, composites and titanium alloys.
The laser is mounted in the 46 section on the main deck of the aircraft. To ensure strength, thermal and chemical stability under the laser, two titanium panels of the lower fuselage skin are installed. The laser beam is transmitted to the nose turret through a special tube passing through the upper part of the fuselage through all bulkheads. Shooting is carried out with a bow turret weighing about 6,3 tons. It can rotate 150 ° around the horizontal axis, tracking the target. The beam is focused on the target by a 1.5 meter mirror, which has an azimuth viewing sector in 120 °.
Tests of an airborne laser codenamed “First Light” began in November 2004 of the year and continue to this day. It was assumed that, if successful, three more such aircraft would be launched, and by 2008 the year - an air defense system would take up combat duty: a fleet of seven aircraft would be able to localize the threat in 24 hours anywhere in the world. However, the developers suddenly started having problems: the congressmen reduced funding for promising military projects and the ABL project suffered the most from this reduction. Nevertheless, the prototype already flies and even shoots, and the tests in conditions close to the combat must take place before the end of 2009.
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Comparing the various projects of combat lasers, you come to an amazing conclusion. It turns out that in this area, Russian experts once again were "ahead of the rest."
A mobile laser complex for the destruction of enemy satellites and ballistic missiles was created in Soviet times by the efforts of the design team of the Trinity Institute for Innovative and Thermonuclear Research in the Moscow region.
The base of the complex is a 1 megawatt carbon laser. The complex is based on two platforms created from serial trailers of the Chelyabinsk plant. The first platform houses a laser radiation generator including an optical resonator unit and a gas discharge chamber. It also sets up a beam forming and guidance system. Nearby is the control cabin, from where the software or manual guidance is carried out on the target and focus. On the second platform there are elements of the gas-dynamic path: aviation P29-300 turbojet engine, which has developed its flight resource, but still able to serve as an energy source; ejectors, exhaust and sound attenuation devices, a container for liquefied carbon dioxide, a fuel tank with aviation kerosene.
Each platform is equipped with its own KrAZ truck and is transported to almost any place it can go. Upon arrival at the place is enough two or three hours to bring the entire system in working condition.
When it turned out that this complex would not be used as a weapon, a team of specialists from the Trinity Institute, together with colleagues from the Almaz Scientific and Production Association, the Efremov Electrophysical Instrument Research Institute and the State-owned Small Innovative Enterprise Conversion, developed a laser technological complex "MLTK-50". This complex showed excellent results in extinguishing a fire in a gas well in Karachayevsk, breaking up a rocky massif, in decontaminating the concrete surface at a nuclear power plant by peeling, burning out a film of oil on the surface of the water area.
There are also more exotic areas of application for MLTK-50.
Imagine the powerful turbine of a large power plant. It weighs from 150 to 200 tons, and the dimensions are appropriate. So the transportation of such turbines is always a problem of particular complexity. And then it turns out that the turbine has developed its resource - more precisely, it could still work, but the bearing surfaces began to wear off. What to do? Designers offer to deliver a simplified version of the “MLTC” directly to the machine room of the power plant and use it to carry out laser spraying, restoring worn surfaces.
Another idea is no less original: with the help of a laser you can effectively deal with agricultural pests: for example, with a cotton or tobacco scoop. Typically, these parasites are struggling with chemicals - our experts have proposed a different way. It looks like this. Late in the evening, a gazelle microtruck arrives at the fields. First turn on the spotlight with a special filter that attracts the scoop. And when she takes off, the midges hit by clouds with a laser beam. A similar method can be used against the infamous locust.
However, the current installation no longer suits its creators. It seems to them too bulky. The new model that is being worked on today will consist of several standard containers that can be shipped both by water, air and rail. And in case of emergency, the helicopter on the external sling will deliver the installation to the right place in a matter of hours ...
Laser weapon against terrorists
Similar mobile installations were created in the USA. But for some reason, Americans are in no hurry to carry out conversion in this area and turn their “death rays” from a weapon into a device for the destruction of insects or the restoration of bearings.
A high-energy tactical laser (THEL - Tactical High-Energy Laser) on mobile platforms is being developed as part of the Nautilus program, commissioned by the Space and Strategic Command of the US Army and the Ministry of Defense of Israel. The main task of the THEL laser is to intercept and destroy short-range ballistic missiles in flight. THEL is directly involved in the development and manufacture of the American company TRV, which specializes in high-energy lasers, and the Israeli firm Raphael, which manufactures aviation equipment together with Boeing. In this case, the Pentagon took over the allocation of 89 million dollars, and the Israeli Ministry of Defense - 59,5 million dollars.
Funding for the project began in 1995, when TRN allocated 2,5 million dollars. Israel has added 600 thousands to this sum, taking on the preparation of the vehicle, the technical staff and training objectives. Israel’s interest in this project is clear: the laser facility must protect Israel’s borders from Iraq’s missiles and Hezbollah missiles.
MIRACL, an infrared chemical laser operating on a mixture of deuterium and fluorine gases, was chosen as a prototype for THEL. Of particular interest to this mixture is the fact that the rays generated by it are practically not absorbed by the atmosphere. It has been reported that MIRACL reaches 2,2 megawatts in the beam. As a device for targeting and monitoring, the equipment used was Sea Light (“Sea Lite”), built sometime for advanced laser systems that protect warships from enemy missiles.
The new laser and the Nautilus project guidance system were first tested together at the White Sands (New Mexico) test site in February 1996. The laser worked for 15 seconds, and when tested, according to Pentagon officials, it was not brought to full capacity. However, the energy that he emitted was enough to undermine the rocket systems of the BM-13 (Katyusha) and the BM-21 (Grad) multiple rocket launchers. Specialists of the company "TPV" proved the realism of their project and received funding in full.
As a result, a whole complex was created consisting of three main systems: a laser, a tracking and target designation device and a command and control center provided with communications and control computers. In June, the 2000 of the year at the same proving ground, the system demonstrated its high efficiency, shooting down several Katyush shells in flight. Two years later, in November 2002 of the year, an artillery shell was shot down — much smaller and moving at a tremendous speed. At the moment, the selection of machines for the transportation of the entire installation over long distances. It is assumed that after a slight revision the laser can be transported using standard military armored vehicles.
Serial installation should appear in the coming years. Israel intends to order three fixed and thirteen mobile installations to protect its borders. And the US military, in turn, is going to expand the capabilities of the installation in order to intercept guided bombs, missiles or even enemy aircraft in flight. According to the calculations of the Pentagon, the invisible "death rays" will become part of the deployed National Missile Defense, as well as serve to combat international terrorism ...
* * *
In turn, after the emergence of a real threat of terrorist attacks against civilian aircraft, Russian designers proposed using a ready-made laser system in aviation that could shoot down missiles of portable Igla or Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. This was stated by one of the creators of the national missile weapons - Doctor of Technical Sciences Yuri Sizov.
According to him, "the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation has at its disposal effective anti-missile defense technologies for military aircraft in the near zone." If necessary, these projects can be used to ensure the safety of passenger aircraft.
According to Sizov, promising missile defense systems for civil aviation aircraft "should, as a rule, include several airborne and ground-based radars that search for targets in the airspace along the route of the aircraft." If the aircraft is attacked from the ground, then the missile guidance system of the portable anti-aircraft missile system is suppressed by powerful radiation from the onboard ABM system. In this case, all actions to protect the aircraft are carried out automatically. The cost of such a system should not exceed a million dollars.
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