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| Science & Technology |
| Northrop Grumman Offers New Compact High-Power Solid-State Laser |
| 2006-10-26 |
| Compact laser weapons powerful enough to perform many basic military missions are getting closer to accompanying U.S. troops wherever they go due to rapid advancements Northrop Grumman is making in high-energy, solid-state lasers, exemplified by a company-funded laser weapon named Vesta announced today. Expected to greatly shorten the timeline for lasers to go from the laboratory onto the battlefield, Vesta's critical features are high power, excellent beam quality, and long run time -- all packaged into a compact laser device that represents significant reductions in size and in the weight of the laser from previous systems. Beam quality refers to how well the beam can be focused, ultimately defining how much of the beam can be projected onto a target. Since it offers a groundbreaking combination of excellent beam quality and high power, Vesta can place an unprecedented level of power onto a targeted spot. "With such superb beam quality, Vesta can be effective at a lower power level than what would otherwise be required for many major military missions," said Alexis Livanos, president of Northrop Grumman Space Technology. "This new advancement in solid-state laser technology will serve as the building block for many future military systems." Potential uses include force protection of fixed-site critical assets, ground maneuver forces, ships and aircraft as well as precision strike by manned and unmanned aircraft. Detailing the technical advancements that have been built into Vesta, the company said the new laser weapon: - Demonstrated a "beam quality" or brightness of less than 1.3 times the theoretical diffraction limit. By comparison, a typical industrial laser for welding would have a beam quality exceeding 20. Weapon system applications typically seek beam qualities of 1.5 to 2. Beam qualities less than 1.5 for high-power lasers are considered outstanding. - Operated at a power of 15 kilowatts continuous run time - Is designed to operate at this power and beam quality level indefinitely -- even demonstrating more than 20 minutes of continuous operation with no degradation. "For lasers to have military utility, they must not only have the required power, but they must also have excellent beam quality to allow the beam to be focused on targets at a distance," said Mike McVey, president of Directed Energy Systems business area. "To achieve this milestone, substantial progress was made in the key element of the laser -- the gain module." McVey noted that Vesta's key building block, known as a gain module, is easily assembled and has reproducible performance of greater than 4 kW. The Vesta laser uses these gain modules to produce 15 kW. The combination of gain modules forms what the company calls amplifier chains, which are in turn building blocks for higher power lasers. According to McVey, Vesta further serves to reduce risk for the company's work under the Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) Phase 3 program, which is funded by the Army, High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office, Air Force and Navy. JHPSSL 3 has a goal of developing a solid-state laser system to reach the 100 kW power level and will use eight of these amplifier chains. The chain construct also facilitates providing various power levels for different applications, and high reliability through a graceful degradation design. Northrop Grumman Space Technology has been developing and demonstrating high-energy laser weapon systems for more than 30 years, paving the way for the U.S. to incorporate them across all services, including ships, manned and unmanned aircraft, and ground vehicles... (tech specs follow) |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #13 (chuckle) Guess we're the oldtimers. |
| Posted by: J.D. Lux 2006-10-26 18:51 |
| #12 "Nams Qarlo Kopregne R-E-M-E-N-T-O". Outer Limits? |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-10-26 18:48 |
| #11 "Nams Qarlo Kopregne R-E-M-E-N-T-O". "Meow" "C.O. !" |
| Posted by: J.D. Lux 2006-10-26 18:38 |
| #10 Technology can be overrated, especially if your batteries die. A gun that's out of ammunition is just as useless. Access to electrical power is often a lot easier than finding more bullets. This is also why I mentioned carrying a .45 as backup. Think about the Ewoks. Those little fellas did some serious damage and they just had rocks and spears. The Ewoks' survival depended entirely upon the fact that the director created them especially for his little grandaughter. A Death Star* makes short work of Ewoks (when it isn't being blown up by a bunch of teenagers). * WARNING: Clicking link may lead to wetting pants due to hysterical laughter. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-10-26 18:27 |
| #9 "Nams Qarlo Kopregne R-E-M-E-N-T-O". /spot the old timers |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-10-26 18:02 |
| #8 Technology can be overrated, especially if your batteries die. Think about the Ewoks. Those little fellas did some serious damage and they just had rocks and spears. They had a [hack] screenwriter on their side. Lasers aren't perfect weapon, and individual arms will be slugthrowers for a long time, but lasers have a buttload of capabilities nothing else can match. Imagine being about to shoot down RPG rounds. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-10-26 18:01 |
| #7 Can we put some of them on the border with mex? just askin. |
| Posted by: Angatch Spaise5917 2006-10-26 17:56 |
| #6 I'll also add; Imagine the morale boost our soldiers will get from packing Star Wars heat against stone age armed opponents. Technology can be overrated, especially if your batteries die. Think about the Ewoks. Those little fellas did some serious damage and they just had rocks and spears. |
| Posted by: remoteman 2006-10-26 17:45 |
| #5 #19 The ability to flash BBQ a whole pig at a thousand yards (BBQ-sauce-be-upon-it). |
| Posted by: Flea 2006-10-26 17:30 |
| #4 Jeeze, I left out: 13.) Lasers have inherent auto-ranging capability to provide targeting for other combat support weaponry. 14.) Lasers can rapidly paint or acquire pre-painted targets with ease. 15.) Lasers can pierce armor, even reactive armor. 16.) Lasers readily acquire and impact extremely fast moving targets. 17.) Lasers are electronically keyed to individual operators with ease. 18.) Using galvanometric or acousto-optic (Bragg cell) output deflection, a laser weapon could sweep large areas to provide denial of incoming projectiles (per Leigh's mention of mortar and artillery supression). I'll also add; Imagine the morale boost our soldiers will get from packing Star Wars heat against stone age armed opponents. The list is almost endless. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-10-26 16:21 |
| #3 I really want to know: is there something that lasers would do better than what we have now? 1.) A laser doesn't jam or need oiling and cleaning (as much). 2.) A laser doesn't need its clip reloaded after a few seconds on full-auto. 3.) A laser does more damage more quickly to a larger variety of materials (and organs). 4.) A laser can be coordinated with other target acquisition systems. 5.) A laser doesn't have problems with drop or windage (i.e., it's point & shoot). 6.) A laser makes no firing noise for the enemy to audio-locate upon. 7.) An IR laser would have no muzzle flash (article does not spec wavelength). 8.) A laser has continuous output, not individual rounds. 9.) Laser weapons can all share identical battery packs without any ammunition caliber mismatch issues. 10.) Laser batteries are less dangerous to carry and transport than ammunition. 11.) Laser batteries can be recharged using solar cells or other simple power sources unlike reloading rounds of ammunition. 12.) Laser weapons will blind or kill our enemies in ways that will inspire complete and total terror. Quite possibly to the point where they fear even taking the field against us. The psychological advantage of this single feature cannot be overstated. If our foes dread even the thought of trying to engage us, we will win battles without firing a single shot Long ago, the U.S. Army developed C-CLAW (Close Combat Laser Assault Weapon), and it was instantly denounced by human rights types as being inhuman because of its ability to almost instantaneously blind large gatherings of people. Back then, I immediately arrived at the conclusion that America should make weapons of such a ferocious and savage nature that our enemies would shit their pants just knowing that we were coming after them. This new generation of comabt laser weapons promises exactly that. Me like. - Operated at a power of 15 kilowatts continuous run time - Is designed to operate at this power and beam quality level indefinitely -- even demonstrating more than 20 minutes of continuous operation with no degradation. That is enough time to, most likely, saw a car in half or achieve all sorts of other dainty mission objectives. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-10-26 15:42 |
| #2 A laser can shoot down incoming mortar and arty rounds before they can impact on your head. Nothing that I know of currently fielded can do this. 'Course... if you can shoot down arty - planes and missles are kind of a no-brainer. |
| Posted by: Leigh 2006-10-26 15:09 |
| #1 This isn't a snarky question -- I really want to know: is there something that lasers would do better than what we have now? |
| Posted by: Jonathan 2006-10-26 14:48 |