Mr.
Viwin Singh
Assistant
Professor
Department
of Electronics and Communication Engineering
The Navy has already
developed such a weapon that it plans to deploy on a ship later this summer. The
Office of Naval Research (ONR), based in Arlington, Virginia, announced this
week that they are now interested in developing a similar laser weapon for
ground vehicles.
The somewhat ominously
named GBAD program (short for Ground-Based Air Defense Directed Energy
On-the-Move) aims to provide "an affordable alternative to traditional
firepower" to guard against unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that could
track or target U.S. Marines on the ground, ONR officials said. [How Do Laser
Weapons Work? (Infographic)]
"We can expect
that our adversaries will increasingly use UAVs and our expeditionary forces
must deal with that rising threat," Col. William Zamagni, acting head of
ONR's expeditionary maneuver warfare and combating terrorism department, said in
a statement.
The ONR is working with
Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and industry partners to develop
the laser system, which includes a beam director, batteries, radar, cooling
system, communications and control.
Researchers are
designing the futuristic weapon to be used on lightweight military vehicles,
such as the Humvee and Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.
The laser system was
developed in response to the Marine Corps Science and Technology Strategic
Plan, which called for a mobile directed-energy weapon that could target and
destroy enemy drones.
"Everything about
this program is geared toward realizing a viable directed-energy capability in
support of that objective to allow our Marines to be fast and lethal," Lee
Mastroianni, program manager for force protection in ONR’s expeditionary
maneuver warfare and combating terrorism department, said in a statement.
Several components of
the laser have already been tested in detecting and tracking drones of all
sizes, according to the ONR. Later this year, researchers will test the
complete system using a 10 kilowatt laser, with plans to eventually move to a
more powerful 30 kW laser, which is expected to be ready for field testing in
2016. At that time, the program will conduct more complex assessments of the
laser on tactical vehicles, evaluating how well it detects, tracks and fires on
its targets.
The Navy has already
developed a ship-based laser weapon. An updated prototype will be installed on
USS Ponce for at-sea testing in the Persian Gulf, Navy officials said recently.
The Navy's weapon will target unmanned and light aircraft, as well as small
attack boats that could deny access to U.S. forces, officials said. The laser
was used in demonstrations aboard a warship in 2011 to destroy multiple small
boats, and in 2012, the weapon successfully downed several unmanned aircraft in
tests.
The Department of
Defense High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office, MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory,
the Penn State Electro-Optics Center and the U.S. Army Space and Missile
Defense Command have invested money and research into developing the
technologies used in the new laser system.
The weapon is being
developed as part of the ONR's Future Naval Capabilities program, which aims to
rapidly translate proven technology into something the military can use.
Courtesy:http://article.wn.com/view/2014/06/16/US_military_announces_laser_weapon_to_shoot_down_enemy_drone/
No comments:
Post a Comment