Tanks w/ laser weapons deployed in US in 4 to 5 years
 

Northrup seems to be continually successful in this endevour. 100 kw power level is pretty much guranteed. It's not an anti-tank type of weapon since the British designed chobahm armor will probably stand up to it for quite a bit, but it completely changes the art of warfare since it will be used as an anti artillery type device. I mean, how do you fight a modern ground war while being denied artillery capability? It would completely screw the attacking force rendering and religating them back to something of a Napolionic type time where the only way to fight would be through direct means only. Indirect means would be completely eliminated. Anyway, the thoughts on how screwed ones army would be having been denied indirect fire capability against an enemy cannot be denied.

-S

http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/p....mhtml?d=91947

Can it be used against infantry? Or light vehicles?

If such a weapon could be used against that poor soldier who stepped out in the open it could have quite a dramatic psychological effect.

Lasers are forbidden per some convention (that I forgot the name of) for use against soldiers. An easy laser to field 'at this moment' would use invisible laser light but hemmorage the eyes to the point of permanent blindness in every troop unprotected in the immediate vicinity - like within like 5 miles from the transmitter. Naturally, nuclear reprisal is typically the threat used by the US as a response to doing this to our troops on the battlefield, and we agree also not to use it, but it is well known that these types of systems already exist.

I still find it weird that there are rules in warfare, but definitely neccesary for instances like this.

-S

So the effect is devastating, who else has this technology?

ive heard of a few tests with this type of system, its the one of the many reasons why the uk has developed electricaly charged armour, which could 'deflect' such a weapon.

The one that hemorages the eyes? I'd assume anyone that has a decent laser program, like Russia, or Isreal, and probably the UK.

As far as Anti-Artillery as shown in that article, the US only, and it will probably be sold to other allies..

-S

It was the "United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW)"

Protocol I restricts fragmentation weapons
Protocol II restricts landmines
Protocol III restricts incendiary weapons
Protocol IV (adopted in 1995) restricts blinding laser weapons
Protocol V (adopted in 2003) sets out obligations and best practice for the clearance of explosive remnants of war

There was a story about a sailor who got his eyes damaged when a Russian laser from a AGI was used on him...

russian AGI's still have lasers on board they are the only type of ship in the russian navy that openly carrys lasers.

and they are also only ment for laser rangeing and detection not as an offencive weapons (LARAD) russia has perfected this for the last 15 years. only now has it come about since the sailor inccident

There are ranging and targeting lasers with sufficient power to cause eye damage. However, their purpose is not blinding (that's a possible side-effect), but giving targeting information, so they are not banned.

Easy way to beat that, mirrored shades....of a fashion :)

I think the laser's greatest potential lies in a surface to air capacity.

PD

more than likely all the lasers should d on the russian AGI's is to get the range of a target (same during exercise)thats about it not designed for anything else.

I just saw War of the Worlds on DVD...

...

Lasers scare me. :o

the most lasers can do is heat, the war of the worlds gives light mass in order to see such damage.

:roll:
Go watch Firefly (Episode 14: Heart of Gold to be specific) and you will see a much more realistic portrayal of laser technology in Sci Fi. If you hit a building with it, the flammable material will burn, it doesn’t vaporize people, and it even runs out of power. :up: