World's First Solid-State Battlefield Laser Now On Sale
Military tanks fitted with lethal lasers? Apparently, that’s no longer just a work of the imagination.
And according to this press release, the supposed laser is definitely no joke. Northrop Grumman Corporation, a global defense and technology company, is the group behind the laser device, and claims that the "ruggedized, high-energy, solid-state laser designed as a line replaceable unit (LRU) for battlefield applications" is now ready for order. While the company does not offer pricing on such a device in the press release (a couple million each at best), it does state that the laser is customizable, utilizing a combinable LRU building block scheme to increase the laser’s default power and dish out a lethal dose of destructive energy.
"This is a rugged electric laser with power levels, beam quality, and runtime suitable for offensive and defensive military utility," said aid Dan Wildt, vice president of Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman’s Space Technology sector. "Also available is a newly designed laser current source assembly (LCSA), which is compact, and specifically developed to precisely meet FIRESTRIKE(tm)’s power needs. Combined with advanced electro optical and/or infrared sensors, the FIRESTRIKE laser can provide self-defense, precision strike and enhanced situational awareness capabilities."
Wildt also commented that the FIRESTRIKE was hardened for military uses, keeping field replacement in mind, designing the laser for on-the-go switch outs as well as expanding the life-cycle of each unit, keeping costs down for the consumer. Because the laser is scalable, wattages can be changed in 15kw increments to accommodate current warfighting missions and/or platforms, shooting up towards a deadly 90kw.
According to the specs, the beam quality is nominally 1.5 times the diffraction limit. The size of the laser head is 12" x 23" x 40" (width, depth, height) and will remain continuous as long as power and coolant are provided. The laser can be operated remotely and features an Ethernet interface. Northrop Grumman believes that FIRESTRIKE laser will form the backbone of future laser weapon systems.
FIRESTRIKE is one of the first lasers to work without the use of chemicals, requiring electricity and emitting no by-products as seen with older laser devices. Whether or not this device is a good thing for America has yet to be seen, however if found in the wrong hands, the FIRESTRIKE device might make for a lethal, unstoppable enemy. But because the laser is continuous, there is no rapid fire, thus soldiers won’t be running around shooting Sandpeople with blasters. And when cranked up to 90kw, the only military vehicle that can power such a device is a tank, perhaps even a MRAP armored vehicle.
Still, a lethal laser that can reach full power in less than a second may cause Northrop Grumman’s stock to rise and the phones to ring off the hooks. "We are ready to deliver on the promise of defense at the speed of light with FIRESTRIKE," Wildt said.
Welcome to the end of mankind, folks.
- Hardware,
- War ,
- Laser ,
- Battlefield ,
- Tanks
- WoW Diehards Hit Level 80
- Hulu Considers Offering Service Outside U.S.
- Former Employee Kills Three at Start-up
- IBM vs Papermaster: Papermaster Countersues
- Everyone Hates Clamshell Packaging
- Hulu to Outdo YouTube in Advertising Revenue?
- Obama Must Surrender His Blackberry
- New Xbox Experience Launches Wednesday
- Microsoft's New Tools for Robot Builders
- AMD's Phenom II Naming Change
- IBM Roadrunner Remains World's Fastest Supercomputer
- Stealth Announces In-Vehicle MiniPC
- PC-Gaming Hardware Worth $20 Billion
- Nvidia Launches Tesla Personal Supercomputer
- Jerry Yang Mails Fellow Employees
- Google iPhone App Listens to You
- SiPort Sets up Memorial Fund
- Boy collapses after playing WoW for 24 hours
Scary stuff!
I am going to pwn you all with this, i will base a design off of the nod obselisks and put them out my front door, moohaha.
I want one.
Sounds impressive, but it is worth bearing in mind that if you mount three mirrors at 90 degrees to one another (like in the corner of a cube) then they will always reflect light straight back where it came from. Therefore, you could make a simple device that would just bounce the laser back at whoever fired it!
How are you going to fit that big thing to a sharks head?
Very interesting
I didn't see anything about what the laser does in terms of damage. What happens if someone just uses a mirror or reflective armor?
So the next set of enemy uniforms will include really shiny pants.
The real issue with lasers is collateral damage to friendly retinas. It really is worse than wildfire, a beam passing over any reflective surface will create untold chaos with inpredictable reflections.
You must use such a weapon almost as a sole participant on the battlefield, or else all the grouped battle divisions must have some kind of synchronised shutters and eye protection at the minimum.
And we haven't even gotten into high energy lasers which will damage more than retinas of course.
The laser is a highly problematic weapon to use in a battlefield scenario, particularly if you are panning it rather than pulsing it.
Simple solution: armor plated with mirrors. Make them shiny enough, and not even the Death Star's mega-uber-planetbuster won't do a thing.
But... how much do you want to bet the armies that face the laser will spend years of research and tons of money to invent some really unnecessarily-high-tech devices to counter the laser?
One more thing: don't tell the Russians about this. Their military powers get major hard-ons at any extremely dangerous weapon...
One thing most do not realize is that "mundane" reflectivity is much less a issue at higher energy ranges. (ie anything but pristine optics or prefect reflective "silver first" surfaces would fail almost instantly)
Also the article does not state what frequency the laser is running at. It will most likely be out side the visible spectrum and thus less likely to generate as harmful reflections (it is also easy to make selective filters for goggles etc that would protect from any stray unfocused reflections in the near ultraviolet)
Both these factors can mitigate problems with reflective armor or damaging retinas.
The bigger problem is dealing with true battlefield conditions. Suspended partials do a lot of harm to the end power of a laser over a distance. This really lends itself to a short range shell/missile intercept defensive device.
this laser thing works for only abolish missile electronic equipment..nothing more than a condensed light..it is not a gun..
Cheap counter is a light /laser detector and a smoke grenade.
Besides i dont think it will do the kind of damage a 128mm shell will do.
Best use maybe some golden Eye special forces from a satelite. If it has the range and get through the atmosphere.