The Space and Missile Defense Directorate under the Strategic Command of the US Armed Forces published on the website of public procurement a request for information on companies capable of developing “compact and reliable” modules for the High Energy Laser (HEL) multi-purpose high-energy laser weapons subsystems.
Thus, the ministry is going to explore the prospects for increasing the effectiveness of the use of a laser during hostilities. In particular, the US military is interested in the possibility of controlling the laser beam and how to cool the laser system.
As stated in the application, over the past decade, HEL has become an "effective combat tool." A modern experimental laser machine is equipped with a 50 kilowatt generator and is placed on a heavy truck “with enhanced mobility” and a load capacity of 14.5 tons.
In the future, the Space and Missile Defense Directorate expects to get more compact HEL complexes to use them on Stryker medium tactical armored vehicles. The United States is going to use laser weapons on smaller platforms and improve the performance of the damaging ability.
The small-sized laser facility, as conceived by representatives of the ministry, should counteract unmanned aerial vehicles, “threats of reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance.”
- Image of methods of using laser weapons according to the version of the Intelligence Agency of the US Department of Defense
- © Wikimedia commons
The application emphasizes that one of the tasks to improve laser weapons is to reduce the time required to intercept the target. The fire control system will receive a signal, automatically select and track the target. In this case, the launch of the laser weapon will be carried out by the operator. It is noted that difficult weather conditions - rain, snow, fog - should not interfere with the installation.
The Office of Space and Missile Defense expects that the deployment of HEL will take no more than five minutes. The time interval between shots should be 0.02 seconds. According to the requirements, the system should shut down in safe mode for the same amount of time.
"Crossbow" instead of a laser
In an interview with RT, Sergey Suvorov, candidate of military sciences, questioned the feasibility of the Pentagon’s project to create a compact laser facility. The expert believes that in the foreseeable future the laser will not become an effective tactical lethal weapon, because the issues related to increasing the power of the generator sets have not yet been resolved.
“The idea of creating a lethal laser has been hovering in the minds of different military countries, probably since the publication of Alexey Tolstoy’s book The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin. Modern lasers can easily shoot down tactical drones. But, in my opinion, for this task their use is redundant and does not make much sense, ”said Suvorov.
The expert is convinced that there are much simpler and less costly ways to destroy drones. As an example, Suvorov cited the Russian automated machine gun module "Arbalet-DM" (designed on the basis of a 12.7-mm machine gun "Kord"). This complex is able to destroy light air targets at a distance of about 2.5 km. The module is planned to be installed on armored vehicles "Typhoon", "Wolf", "Tiger" and multi-purpose tractor-tractor MT-LB.
“I can’t imagine why the Americans needed such sophisticated weapons for combat use and operation. For the destruction of small drones, a certain analogue of our “Crossbow” is quite suitable, and not a weapon acting on other physical principles. And in order to defeat armored vehicles with modern compact lasers, there will still not be enough power for a very long time, ”Suvorov explained.
In addition, the interlocutor noted that Stryker is not the most suitable platform for installing heavy laser equipment. Suvorov believes that the American armored personnel carrier can “pull” no more than 2-3 tons of payload.
- US armored personnel carrier Stryker
- Reuters
- © Ints Kalnins
A separate question, according to the expert, is the weight and dimensions of the equipment. It is not clear how to fit all this into an already cramped car and whether other weapons will be installed on the Stryker.
“Stryker is not the best armored personnel carrier in terms of survivability, maneuverability and maneuverability, and is noticeably inferior to, for example, the domestic BTR-82. With the installation of a laser, an American car risks becoming quite cumbersome, ”said Suvorov.
Reduce the backlog of Russia
In August 2018, the Defense News publication reported that Lockheed Martin, Dynetics and Raytheon, are working on a mobile laser installation project. The cost of the HEL complex will be $ 10 million. However, the functionality of these weapons should be much broader than indicated in the application of the Office of Space and Missile Defense.
It is assumed that, in addition to the drones, the laser system will shoot down cruise missiles, as well as suppress artillery and mortar batteries. The declared power of the weapon will be 100 kilowatts. Tests of the laser is scheduled to begin in 2022 at the White Sands range (New Mexico).
The United States has been experimenting with combat lasers since the days of the Cold War. It is believed that the Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) program, which was announced by US President Ronald Reagan in 1983, served as a strong impetus to the development of laser technology in the US. She assumed the placement in space of laser systems to intercept Soviet missiles.
According to information from open sources, the United States is actively working to create a laser gun, including for the needs of aviation and Navy. For several years at the US landfills held firing of the combat laser. According to the US Department of Defense, the tests are successful, but no samples have been launched into mass production.
In November 2018, the Deputy Head of the Pentagon for Research and Development, Michael Griffin, said that the Defense Ministry intends to increase funding for programs to develop laser weapons. According to him, "no more than a few years separate the United States from the creation of military weapons directed energy transfer."
Meanwhile, Russian engineers have achieved significant results in the field of laser weapons. On February 20, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the deployment of the Peresvet ground-based combat laser complex was completed in the troops. In December 2019, he will be taken on combat duty.
To date, Peresvet is the most powerful and effective combat laser in the world, military expert Yury Knutov said in an interview with RT.
“There is very little public information on this complex. In my opinion, its main purpose is air defense and anti-space defense. The Peresvet is capable of striking all types of missiles and aircraft, including drones. It can also disable satellites. The capacity of the complex is about 1 megawatt, ”Knutov said.
- Laser complex "Peresvet"
- © Frame: video of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
According to the expert, the deployment of Peresvet in the military leads to the conclusion that domestic combat lasers are superior to American samples. Nevertheless, Knutov does not agree with the point of view of Suvorov, who doubted the feasibility of the Pentagon’s project to create a compact laser facility. He is confident that such developments can change the nature of the fighting, and Washington is not going to play the role of a passive observer.
“The advantages of a laser weapon are that its beam cannot be intercepted, and a shot without taking into account the cost of equipment is very cheap - as the Americans calculated, about one dollar. Naturally, there are now a lot of unsolved technical problems, ”Knutov said.
The expert noted that the main goal of the United States is to develop a compact solid-state laser on a self-propelled platform. According to him, the US military expects that the gun will be so powerful that the weather conditions will not affect the passage of the beam. At the same time, Knutov doubts that the United States will succeed in reducing the gap with Russia in the field of creating laser weapons.
“The United States made a very serious breakthrough in the development of laser systems in the 1990s. But, as I suspect, it was based on Soviet technology, which the United States inherited from Ukraine, where our ship with a combat laser remained. Now we see that the Americans still have not created a working laser system, ”Knutov said.
According to him, the United States will bring the power of laser weapons to 100 kilowatts at best by the mid-2020s. Most likely, it is not enough for the effective performance of combat missions.