Boo! Army Laser Cannon Won’t Be Ready Until 2017

Feuer Frei! · 07-08-11, 07:59 AM

Late last month, officials from the Army and from Boeing presented to the press what appeared to be a working version of a mobile laser cannon. Parked in front of an American flag was an eight-wheel, 19-ton heavy truck. Affixed to the top of that truck was a laser beam controller, used to aim and fire lethal rays of coherent light.
There was only one thing missing from this $38 million High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator: the laser itself.
The actual ray gun is being built under an entirely separate Army program — one that won’t be complete for another five years. Integrating the truck and the laser together could take another year or two on top of that. In other words, don’t expect a working laser cannon until at least 2017.
The Pentagon devotes about $550 million annually to a mind-bending myriad of researching and development projects, all designed make lasers and other so-called “directed energy weapons” a reality. Some programs are for lasers tucked into bombers, like Darpa’s High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System. Some are for ships. Others are for trucks. But they all have a common denominator: the blasters are still far from combat ready. At this rate, even the interminable Afghanistan war could well be over before America has any semblance of a ray gun arsenal.

For decades, military scientists promised that lasers were the weapons of tomorrow, just around the corner. But the vats of toxic chemicals used to power the lasers made them all-but-useless in a real-life war. So the Pentagon shifted its efforts about five years ago, to solid state, electric-powered lasers, which would be easier to carry into combat. In 2009, one of those lasers hit what’s believed to be battlefield strength, firing pulses of about 100 kilowatts. That’s like 1,000 lightbulbs, shining on exactly the same spot and in the same wavelength.
Hauling those laser modules, the Army hopes, is a truck an awful lot like the one they showed off last month. On top is a beam control system. It not only lets the soldier in the truck’s front cab operate the laser, explains Army program manager Terry Bauer.
“It also takes light, conditions it, focuses and aims the light at whatever you’re shooting at,” he says. “Plus, it’ll take input from another sensor, telling you where to look for what you want to destroy.”
The High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator, or HEL TD, truck will now roll out to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. It’ll plug into a series of outside lasers there for testing. The first won’t be much stronger than a light bulb. Eventually, the Army will connect that 100 kW laboratory laser to the truck, and hopefully start zapping all kinds of munitions that today threaten American troops. Then it’ll wait for those RELI modules to get done. By 2018 or so, the Army hopes to be ready for a “decision point” (.pdf) about the laser, and whether it has an “Army application” or not.

SOURCE

Osmium Steele · 07-08-11, 08:31 AM

The Navy's had em for a decade.

Though they lost them during Hurricane Katrina, and rescued them a few weeks later.

Platapus · 07-08-11, 01:54 PM

They really used the term "ray gun" in that article?

TLAM Strike · 07-08-11, 02:05 PM

You can probably buy the Russian one today...

http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Rus-P...AM.html#Ranets

07-08-11, 07:59 AM	#1
Feuer Frei! Navy Seal Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Valhalla Posts: 5,295 Downloads: 141 Uploads: 17	Boo! Army Laser Cannon Won’t Be Ready Until 2017 Late last month, officials from the Army and from Boeing presented to the press what appeared to be a working version of a mobile laser cannon. Parked in front of an American flag was an eight-wheel, 19-ton heavy truck. Affixed to the top of that truck was a laser beam controller, used to aim and fire lethal rays of coherent light. There was only one thing missing from this $38 million High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator: the laser itself. The actual ray gun is being built under an entirely separate Army program — one that won’t be complete for another five years. Integrating the truck and the laser together could take another year or two on top of that. In other words, don’t expect a working laser cannon until at least 2017. The Pentagon devotes about $550 million annually to a mind-bending myriad of researching and development projects, all designed make lasers and other so-called “directed energy weapons” a reality. Some programs are for lasers tucked into bombers, like Darpa’s High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System. Some are for ships. Others are for trucks. But they all have a common denominator: the blasters are still far from combat ready. At this rate, even the interminable Afghanistan war could well be over before America has any semblance of a ray gun arsenal. For decades, military scientists promised that lasers were the weapons of tomorrow, just around the corner. But the vats of toxic chemicals used to power the lasers made them all-but-useless in a real-life war. So the Pentagon shifted its efforts about five years ago, to solid state, electric-powered lasers, which would be easier to carry into combat. In 2009, one of those lasers hit what’s believed to be battlefield strength, firing pulses of about 100 kilowatts. That’s like 1,000 lightbulbs, shining on exactly the same spot and in the same wavelength. Hauling those laser modules, the Army hopes, is a truck an awful lot like the one they showed off last month. On top is a beam control system. It not only lets the soldier in the truck’s front cab operate the laser, explains Army program manager Terry Bauer. “It also takes light, conditions it, focuses and aims the light at whatever you’re shooting at,” he says. “Plus, it’ll take input from another sensor, telling you where to look for what you want to destroy.” The High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator, or HEL TD, truck will now roll out to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. It’ll plug into a series of outside lasers there for testing. The first won’t be much stronger than a light bulb. Eventually, the Army will connect that 100 kW laboratory laser to the truck, and hopefully start zapping all kinds of munitions that today threaten American troops. Then it’ll wait for those RELI modules to get done. By 2018 or so, the Army hopes to be ready for a “decision point” (.pdf) about the laser, and whether it has an “Army application” or not. SOURCE __________________ "History is the lies that the victors agree on"- Napoleon LINK TO MY SH 3 MODS

07-08-11, 08:31 AM	#2
Osmium Steele Ace of the Deep Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Upper midwest USA Posts: 1,101 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	The Navy's had em for a decade. Though they lost them during Hurricane Katrina, and rescued them a few weeks later. __________________ In the month of July of the year 1348, between the feasts of St. Benedict and of St. Swithin, a strange thing came upon England... My U297 build thread

07-08-11, 01:54 PM	#3
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,360 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	They really used the term "ray gun" in that article? __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.

07-08-11, 02:05 PM	#4
TLAM Strike Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Rochester, New York Posts: 8,633 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 6	You can probably buy the Russian one today... http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Rus-P...AM.html#Ranets __________________