The US will develop laser air defense systems to intercept missiles and UAVs.

The Pentagon has selected contractors to begin developing prototypes of containerized high-energy lasers as part of the Joint Laser Weapon System (JLWS) program, according to the online military publication NextGen Defense. The contracts will be awarded to nLIGHT Defense and Lockheed Martin Aculight, the winning bidders.

At the first stage, a plant with an initial capacity of 150 kilowatts will be developed, with a subsequent increase to 500 kilowatts, which will allow promising systems Defense effectively intercept cruise missiles missiles and swarms dronesThe containerized design of the systems will allow for their rapid integration into both land and sea platforms.

The Pentagon's deputy secretary for research and development, Emil Michael, told the publication:

We are partnering with industry to rapidly provide the Joint Forces with directed energy capabilities that can be seamlessly applied across a range of applications.

The total budget for the JLWS program is preliminarily estimated at $86 million. The project aims to create a cost-effective alternative to traditional air defense systems to counter asymmetric and highly dangerous threats. Prototype laser systems will provide faster response times, increased munitions capacity, and reduced interception costs compared to conventional kinetic energy. weaponsThe Pentagon can speed up development by streamlining contracting and giving industry more opportunities to quickly refine the systems.

Comments

[tralflot1832]

There's no doubt that some evil human genius will refine laser weapons into combat-ready models that will completely satisfy the military. The only question is who will do it first.

[Perpetually]

Human, yes. And the American one will cut up the dough.

[esoteric]

Are you by any chance confusing America with your home country?

[Pasus]

Essentially, a very high power must be packed into a very, very short pulse. The result is a projectile that doesn't suffer from the physical limitations of air and gravity, but the firing coordinates still need to be calculated very precisely. The question is how quickly such a pulse can be "recharged"/accumulated.
And one more thing: is the laser spot size, or rather the pulse size, sufficient to destroy the aircraft's hull and components? A small spot can't cause any more damage than a bullet, a very accurate bullet that doesn't require a ballistic calculator or wind direction.
Fog, clouds and rain, by the way, are also a big question.

[Samoyed]

Sorry, high ENERGY. High power is generated by the burning propellant in the cartridge, comparable, for the sake of illustration, to the reactors of nuclear icebreakers. Therefore, we must be careful when talking about kilowatts of power. What matters is how much energy is in the pulse, so that it is sufficient, taking into account losses, to destroy the components of the apparatus moving at high speed.

[Pasus]

Well, since we're talking about impulse, then the term energy isn't appropriate either. Let's be even more professional and use specialized terminology. Let's talk about fluence?

[Svetlana]

A projectile that has no physical body's disadvantages in air and gravity

What is this about? A flight of consciousness?

[Pasus]

This analogy is for those on the armored train. It helps us understand the nature of pulsed radiation.