Notch another one up to the ray gun. Or, rather, six. That's the number of UAVs the US Air Force Research Laboratory and Boeing say were shot down in recent tests of high-energy laser weapons at China Lake. In a demonstration of the potential of directed energy for homeland defense, five small UAVs were shot down by AFRL's MATRIX mobile laser testbed and one by Boeing's Laser Avenger air-defense system.
Photo: AFRL
What's interesting is that the trailer-mounted MATRIX shot down the UAVs "at significant ranges" using a 2.5kW-class laser. That's relatively low power for a high-energy laser - most laser weapons being looked at for ground and airborne use start at 100kW.
The vp of Boeing's directed-energy systems business agrees, saying in AFRL's release: "MATRIX's performance was especially noteworthy because it demonstrated unprecedented, ultra-precision, lethal acquisition, pointing and tracking at long ranges using relatively low laser power." I should point out Boeing developed MATRIX for AFRL.
Meanwhile, with high-energy lasers moving out of the laboratory and into field testing, AFRL is looking ahead to operational use and has issued an RFI for a laser predictive avoidance capability. Basically the lab is looking for ways to prevent aircraft and spacecraft being hit unintentionally when operational lasers are fired through unrestricted airspace.
AFRL envisions a tool that would become a standard part of the fire-control system and would continuously monitor mobile laser-weapon platforms and their targets, interface with FAA ATC to avoid known airspace conflicts, and have a fail-safe capability to prevent unintended engagements and provide automated shutdown in the event an aircraft or spacecraft enters the firing zone.
