In the United States experienced combat laser - on lithium-ion batteries and with a controller from Xbox
Boeing Corp. is developing a laser weapon for the US Army, and now a new weapon has been tested at sea and behind the ground. The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) —a simple high-energy laser mounted on a large truck — successfully knocked out drones and 60-mm mortar shells in the sky of Florida earlier this year.
The current test was conducted in a windy and foggy environment, an important step in proving that this technology is suitable for use in the fleet. The HEL MD unit used a 10-kilowatt laser - much less powerful than it is planned to use in the final version - in order to “successfully intercept” more than 150 targets based on Eglin Air Force Base, a test site of the Department of Defense in northwestern Florida. In other words, the laser has disabled or destroyed targets.
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In simple terms, this laser creates an incredibly powerful, highly focused beam of light and directs it to a moving target. The light turns into heat and, after a sufficient amount of heat has been transmitted, the target is hit and falls or explodes. The army and Boeing (which received $ 36 million for this project) worked on this for most of the decade, to create a new generation of weapons platform.
Lithium-ion batteries that power the HEL MD laser are charged with a 60-kilowatt diesel generator. Thus, as long as the military has a full gas tank, they will be able to shoot the attacking targets indefinitely. The system uses a telescope and an infrared camera with a wide viewing angle for target detection and targeting. Boeing has designed the system in such a way that it will be controlled only by the driver and the operator with a laptop and controller from the Xbox. Placing it on the truck makes the system mobile, and more useful in combat situations.
The next step for the laser cannon will be to increase the power to 50 or 60 kilowatts, a “tactically significant power level” for use against missiles, artillery and mortar shells and unmanned drones. It is expected that this laser instrument will not be ready for use for at least the next few years.
(And there and the new Xbox will be released, and the operators will grow. And a battery factory will be built.)
The current test was conducted in a windy and foggy environment, an important step in proving that this technology is suitable for use in the fleet. The HEL MD unit used a 10-kilowatt laser - much less powerful than it is planned to use in the final version - in order to “successfully intercept” more than 150 targets based on Eglin Air Force Base, a test site of the Department of Defense in northwestern Florida. In other words, the laser has disabled or destroyed targets.
')
In simple terms, this laser creates an incredibly powerful, highly focused beam of light and directs it to a moving target. The light turns into heat and, after a sufficient amount of heat has been transmitted, the target is hit and falls or explodes. The army and Boeing (which received $ 36 million for this project) worked on this for most of the decade, to create a new generation of weapons platform.
Lithium-ion batteries that power the HEL MD laser are charged with a 60-kilowatt diesel generator. Thus, as long as the military has a full gas tank, they will be able to shoot the attacking targets indefinitely. The system uses a telescope and an infrared camera with a wide viewing angle for target detection and targeting. Boeing has designed the system in such a way that it will be controlled only by the driver and the operator with a laptop and controller from the Xbox. Placing it on the truck makes the system mobile, and more useful in combat situations.
The next step for the laser cannon will be to increase the power to 50 or 60 kilowatts, a “tactically significant power level” for use against missiles, artillery and mortar shells and unmanned drones. It is expected that this laser instrument will not be ready for use for at least the next few years.
(And there and the new Xbox will be released, and the operators will grow. And a battery factory will be built.)
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/236637/
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