The Iron Beam

Laser weapon technology was rapidly developing field with significant potential in modern warfare offering unique advantages that conventional weapons may not possess. Its unique advantages in precision, speed and cost-effectiveness provides a great leverage. However, it possesses its own challenges. Let’s explore!!

Directed energy weapons (DEW) are ranged weapons which uses concentrated electromagnetic energy without a solid projectile, on the target for both offensive and defensive purposes. This intense, concentrated energy directed towards a target can cause damage by heating or vaporizing the material. The energy medium could be lasers, microwaves, particle beams, sound beams, etc., For example, Anti-drone rifle is a battery powered weapon that emits electromagnetic pulses to suppress navigation and transmission channels used to operate an aerial drone, making it out-of-control and eventually crash. ?Each DEW can produce a range of effects from nonlethal to lethal, depending on factors such as the time on target, the distance to the target, and even the part of the target on which the DEW is focused.?

Laser weapons work based on the generation and amplification of light through stimulated emission of radiation. When energized atoms in a laser medium are stimulated, they emit photons (light) which have a coherent wavelength and energy level as the initially stimulated emission (LASER – Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation). These photons are optically amplified, collimated (directs the photons unilaterally) and made spatially coherent for high irradiance (allows a laser to be focused to a tight spot for optimum efficiency).

High energy lasers (HEL) are used for offensive applications, such as vehicles, missiles and aircrafts. They can burn through or melt the surface of a target. Usually operated in infrared to visible light region and typically used on one target at a time. It generates a power output of minimum 1 Kilowatt, which is 200,000 times greater than a typical laser pointer. This explains its lethality.

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Lockheed Martin has invested its 40 years in Combat Systems Engineering and successfully built a HEL weapon named ‘HELIOS’ (High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance). The HELIOS can emit a beam of maximum 120 kW. It was built with a System-of-Systems approach in order to satisfy the objective of Multi-domain Layered Laser Defense system. The high-energy laser beam’s instantaneous time-of-flight prevents the target from gaining the first strike. In addition, since the cost of an engagement can be reduced to the expense of running the generator that supplies the necessary power, the operational cost per shot is almost zero. According?to the manufacturer, the multi-mission HELIOS system, integrated and expandable by design, will offer tactically relevant laser weapon system warfighting capability as a crucial component of layered defense architecture.

The Iron beam from Israel’s arsenal ( Israeli Air Force ) is another example for Multi layered laser-based defense system. It is designed to work in close co-ordination with its famous Iron Dome (mobile all-weather air defense system). The system uses solid state lasers and is designed to destroy short range rockets and artilleries. It has a range of 17 km which is too close for the Iron Dome system to intercept projectiles effectively. It could even work as a standalone system as it has its own surveillance and power system. To understand its economics in simple terms, one interceptor fired from the Iron dome could cost minimum of $50,000, but the Iron beam can do the same for $2.

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Despite their enormous advantages, HEL weapons possess its own challenges as they are peculiar and evolving systems of current generation.

• The weapon is currently short ranged due to ‘thermal bloom effect‘. When a laser beam propagates through the air, due to the absorption of energy by the particles of atmosphere, after a certain range the beam widens and distorts, which makes the beam ineffective.
• Integrating laser weapons into mobile platforms like aircraft or vehicles requires addressing size and weight constraints.
• Atmospheric interference like dust, fog, or rain can disperse or absorb the laser energy, reducing its effectiveness furthermore.
• Unlike projectiles that instantly destroy target upon impact, the laser weapons required minimum dwell time of the order of three to five seconds to deposit sufficient energy for target destruction. ?
• The dwell time makes the weapon focus on one target at a time, which is relative to longer reloading time.

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Overall, laser weapons signify a promising future, prompting the need for responsible development and international cooperation to ensure their application aligns with international law and humanitarian principles. Matured DEW versions has the capability to completely replace the conventional weapons from the warfare thus ignoring the need for ammunition and its production and transportation needs in the background. ?As new advancements unfold, DEWs would shape the dynamics of warfare and influence military strategies in the years to come.