At present, military powers or major powers are actively developing various new concept weapons that have a great impact on future wars, including laser weapons, high-power microwave weapons, etc. With the development of laser technology, laser weapons are heading to the battlefield.
At this Zhuhai Air Show, a number of laser weapons were unveiled on stage, attracting many viewers to stop and watch and discuss.
The LW-30 laser defense system displayed by Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Two laser weapons were unveiled at the air show. At this air show, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation showed the LW-30 laser defense system to the outside world. According to the exhibition board, the laser weapon it uses output power of 30 kilowatts. The system is mainly used for field air defense or key air defense. It has the ability to kill typical targets such as drones, and has the ability to kill softly and hardly on photoelectric detection and guidance equipment. This laser weapon system can be operated by bicycle or multi-vehicle network, and has the advantages of high strike accuracy, fast response speed, low usage cost and strong continuous combat capability.
From the appearance, the LW-30 laser defense system is installed on the chassis of a 6-wheel high motor truck. There is a car on the car. The laser emitting device is installed above the car. The laser emitting device integrates an optical tracking and aiming system and has omnidirectional emission capabilities. The carriage should be equipped with a command and control system and a power supply system. It is said that the entire system consists of radar command communication vehicles, laser launch vehicles and support equipment.
Close-up of the laser emitter of the LW-30 laser defense system. Another laser weapon system was developed by China Ordnance Industry Group - OW5 laser weapon system. The OW5 laser weapon system is loaded onto a domestic 6X6 heavy truck chassis. Judging from the promotional video released by China Ordnance Industry Group, the OW5 laser weapon system has a high degree of integration. Its laser emission device is received into the car. During combat, the protective cover above the car is opened, and the hydraulic system lifts the laser emission device outside the car, and is equipped with a pitch and rotation servo mechanism, which has the ability to emit omnidirectionally. Compared with the LW-30 laser defense system, the OW5 laser weapon system not only integrates the photoelectric search and aiming system, but also is equipped with a single-sided array phased array radar, which can search targets from a long distance and has strong situational awareness. The OW5 laser weapon system cabin is divided into three parts, its transmitter and take-off and landing system are deployed in the middle of the cabin. There is an independent device in the front of the cabin, which may be a power supply system, and the cabin at the rear of the cabin has a glass door, which may be a command launch room. Due to its independent energy supply and command capabilities, there is no need to be equipped with a generator and a launch command vehicle, and the integration is very high. The manufacturer has not announced the output power of the OW5 laser weapon system, but speculated from the overall system size, its output power may not exceed 50 kilowatts, and the typical target is still drones or photoelectric detection equipment.
OW5 laser weapon system. Laser weapons are suitable for anti-drones. Since the United States successfully developed the first ruby laser in the 1960s, the military use of laser technology has attracted great attention from all countries. Laser technology is widely used in the military field. According to the laser output power, it can be divided into low-energy laser weapons and high-energy laser weapons. Low-energy laser weapons are centered on weak lasers, such as laser ranging, laser communication, etc., which are low-energy laser weapons. High-energy laser weapons are centered on lasers with strong lasers, and use lasers as energy to damage or make them invalid.
At present, it is generally believed that the average output power ≥20 kilowatts is called a high-energy laser weapon. High-energy laser weapons use the high energy density characteristics of lasers to ablate the illuminated targets, thereby achieving damage or defunctionalization of the illuminated targets. The damage or defunctionalization of high-energy laser weapons to targets is a comprehensive process of destruction, which produces three effects: ablation effect, shock effect and radiation effect.
Unlike traditional kinetic weapons such as artillery that have mass launches "bombs" that are fired by high-energy laser weapons, the "bombs" that have no mass or are basically negligible. As the laser is propagating at a speed of 300,000 km/s and transmitting in a straight line, the ultra-fast speed makes it very short to get the laser beam from being launched to hit the target. Therefore, when attacking targets, high-energy laser weapons generally do not need to calculate the advance amount of intercepting targets. They can hit wherever they point and have high shooting accuracy, which is very suitable for intercepting high-speed or high-motor targets.
LW-30 laser weapons can be used to deal with targets such as drones. According to the different combat mission settings, ground-based laser weapons can be divided into ground-based strategic laser weapons and ground-based tactical laser weapons. Strategic laser weapons are used in anti-ballistic missiles, anti-satellite operations, with strike distances of hundreds of kilometers or even thousands of kilometers, mainly performing long-range strike missions. However, due to limited power breakthroughs, strategic laser weapons are developing relatively slowly. Currently, strategic laser weapons deployed in actual combat are mainly used for anti-satellites, such as the Russian "Pereswet" laser weapons. In December 2018, the Russian armed forces official newspaper Red Star reported that a laser weapon called "Pellesvet" was put on experimental combat duty in the Russian army. Tactical laser weapons are mainly used for short-range operations, with strike distances generally ranging from several kilometers to 20 kilometers. They are mainly used to perform tasks such as air defense and anti-missile (the main targets are drones, optical equipment for guided munitions) and C-RAM. The two laser weapons displayed at the Zhuhai Air Show are tactical laser weapons, mainly used to deal with optical equipment, RAM, etc. for drones, guided ammunition, etc.
With the development of drone technology, the proportion of drones used in large-scale operations will continue to increase. Therefore, how to prevent drones is also an important issue in modern air defense operations. Currently, in the prevention of drone operations, stealth drones and small/micro drones flying at low altitudes are the two most difficult targets to defend against. Laser weapons that attack targets at the speed of light basically do not need to calculate the advance amount. Lasers with strong directionality have high interception accuracy and can intercept multiple targets in a short time.
C-RAM is the abbreviation of "anti-rocket launcher, artillery and mortar". As the name suggests, it is to use relevant weapons to deal with shells fired by inter-purpose artillery artillery such as enemy rocket launchers, artillery and mortars. The US military once used a vehicle-mounted "intensive array" system to perform C-RAM tasks. During the evacuation of Afghanistan in August this year, the "intensive array" near defense system deployed at Kabul Airport destroyed several rockets launched by terrorists. Although near-resistant artillery can solve urgent needs, it has defects such as interception probability, collateral damage and high cost, and laser weapons are very suitable for this kind of task. In this year's Pakistan-Israel conflict, the scene of Israel's "Iron Dome" system fighting Palestinian armed rockets is impressive. Israel has now begun to deploy laser weapons called "Laser Saber", which will work with the "Iron Dome" system to deal with the rockets.
The cost of a single interception of laser weapons is only a few dollars, and there will be no debris during interception. It will be accompanied by small damage. It is very suitable for intercepting targets such as small drones, artillery and ammunition.
Russian "Peleswet" laser weapon. Tactical laser weapons move to the battlefield. With the development of technology of foundation tactical laser weapons, the weapon has entered the stage of actual combat deployment, and the United States, Germany and other countries have begun to install such weapons.
In August this year, according to US media reports, the U.S. Army is preparing to deploy its first high-power laser weapon with truly combat capability, which is installed on an infantry combat vehicle. The U.S. Army announced that it has successfully completed the first targeted energy maneuverable short-range air defense (DE M-) target test this summer on two laser weapon systems. These two 50-kilowatt laser weapons are said to be produced by He Leisheng Company, respectively.
The DE-system is not the only laser weapon currently being researched by the Army. The U.S. Army is also committed to deploying a 300-kilowatt indirect fire protection capability, a high-energy laser (IFPC-HEL) vehicle-mounted laser by 2024. The 50-kilowatt tank will be mainly used for anti-drones and incoming air ammunition, and the IFPC-HEL system equipped with a 300-kilowatt laser may be used to directly destroy cruise missiles.
Infantry fighting vehicle with laser weapons installed. Germany is the fastest-growing country in Europe with laser technology. The laser weapons it has developed have undergone many successful tests for intercepting small drones. The developed laser weapons are divided into 30 kilowatts, 50 kilowatts and 60 kilowatts. The laser emitter is integrated on the "Sky Guardian" turret and uses the "Sky Guardian" detection and command and control system, which can be fixedly deployed or integrated on the vehicle platform for mobile deployment. The launch of two laser weapons by Chinese military-industrial enterprises at the Zhuhai Air Show shows that my country's high-energy laser weapon technology is also in the forefront of the world and can provide relevant products to international customers. Moreover, these two products are for foreign trade, so the products used for their own use should be more advanced.
