The ray gun is real ... or at least it will be soon.   Source




The U.S. Army is betting big on laser warfare -- designing, testing and perfecting ultra-precise weapons based on devastatingly powerful beams of light. And given recent developments, it's only a matter of
time until the military has in its arsenal a weapon that until now has
been the staple of science fiction -- the ray gun.


Set your phasers to kill.


Boeing, one of the Pentagon's top contractors, already has a laser weapon that will improve the military's ability to counter artillery, mortar, drone aircraft and even rockets, a spokesman tells FoxNews.com. 


Boeing's is the highest-profile program of all of the projects under development for the Department of Defense, and last week it took a step closer to reality. At its facility in Huntsville, Ala., Boeing accepted
a military truck built by Oshkosh Defense that will carry its laser beam control system into battle.


The device is the cornerstone of a high-priority U.S. Army project, called the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (HEL-TD), touted as the future of American war, which will enable the military to fight
at the speed of light.  


"The system is technically not in production right now," says Marc Selinger, a spokesman for Boeing's missile defense systems unit in suburban Washington, near the Pentagon. "Boeing is building only a demonstrator now ... in this case, a test unit." 


That means the project is moving out of the design phase and, with the Oshkosh Heavy Expanded Military Tactical Truck, into production. The eight-wheel, 500-horsepower HEMTT A4, a widely used military
tactical vehicle, is being tightly integrated with the Boeing rugged
beam control system. Suppliers are already shipping related components
to Boeing for assembly. 


The weapon will eventually include high-speed processors, optical sensors, and an array of mirrors. Testing of the device's lethal capacity will begin next fiscal year at the White Sands Missile Range
in New Mexico. In addition to the U.S. Army, Boeing is developing its
laser technologies for the Air Force and Navy. 


A number of new materials enhance the weapon as well, including sapphire substrates for LEDs, semiconductors, and optics. One Chicago-based supplier, Rubicon Technology, provides components made of sapphire for military lasers and sensors. 


Lasers are sensitive devices, yet in combat, they will be used in harsh conditions, including sand and wind storms. Sapphire is the second-hardest material on earth, next to diamonds, "yet they can be
free of imperfections and perfectly flat," says Beth Hespe, a
spokeswoman for Rubicon. The material helps keep the laser stable --
key to its effectiveness as a weapon. 


A Brief History of Laser Guns


For decades, the Army has tried -- and essentially failed -- to develop alternative weapons that target threats before they can reach ground troops. One earlier technology was called the Trophy Active
Protection System, which in concept would have fired a shotgun-like
blast of pellets at incoming rocket-propelled grenades and antitank
missiles.


Scientists now hope that lasers can do what flying metal cannot.


Dissipating the heat laser beams generate is one problem the military has faced in its efforts to weaponize lasers, which new, proprietary technology is overcoming. The technology consists of a
laser, a power source and a command and control element. Development of
an effective power source -- something that could generate enough
energy to destroy incoming projectiles -- has been another key
advancement. 


At the most fundamental level, laser weapons are based on the concept of delivering a large amount of stored energy from the weapon to the target, thus producing structural and incendiary damage effects.
A directed energy weapon delivers its effect at the speed of light,
rather than supersonic or subsonic speeds typical of projectile
weapons. The lasers basically obliterate their targets.


Many scientific, military, medical and commercial applications have incorporated lasers since their invention in 1958. When the Apollo astronauts landed on the moon, they planted retroreflector arrays to
make possible the Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment. Laser beams focused
through large telescopes on Earth aimed at the arrays, and scientists
measured the time the beam took to reflect to determined distances with
high accuracy. Military uses of lasers include applications such
as targeting and ranging, defensive countermeasures, communications
and directed energy weapons.


The military's tech at present is focused on larger, truck-mounted laser guns. But as the technology is honed and miniaturized, its easy to imagine a future with handheld versions of the ray guns -- just like
in the movies.


Uses for Laser Beams


Last March, Northrop Grumman announced that its engineers in Redondo Beach, Calif., had successfully built and tested an electric laser capable of producing a 100-kilowatt
ray of light, powerful enough to destroy cruise missiles. An electric
laser requires much less space for its supporting equipment than a
chemical laser, which is powered by a chemical reaction rather than an
electrical power source.


Lasers are also being used in radar and radio applications by the military. "They are also playing a leading role in the development of wideband communications -- wideband essentially being a synonym
for delivering broadband capability to the battlefield," said Jon
Alhart, a spokesman for military contractor Harris Corp.
Using lasers and other technologies, the military can set up broadband
networks anywhere radios are conventionally out of range. This is
accomplished wirelessly, over-the-air, without the assistance of
gateways or other ad-hoc networking technologies. 


But America's enemies are also exploring laser technology, and the U.S. military is preparing for that too. 


Last week, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) disclosed $2.4 million in new funding for Revision Eyewear in Essex Junction, Vt., to make new lenses to protect soldiers against lasers on the battlefield, according
to Jonathan Blansay, CEO of Revision. 


And last year, Leahy secured another $3 million contract for laser protective eyewear -- more than $10 million since 2005, said Blansay. 


It's only a matter of time until lasers form the backbone of many different aspects of military life, not just warfare.



Views: 143

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

RSS

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's blog post Was Sabotage or Terrorism used in the Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge?
"Perfect for destroying the supply chain. It could well have been intentional."
13 hours ago
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post Was Sabotage or Terrorism used in the Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge?
13 hours ago
Doc Vega posted blog posts
14 hours ago
rlionhearted_3 posted photos
17 hours ago
rlionhearted_3 favorited Doc Vega's photo
17 hours ago
tjdavis posted a video

Alabama’s Biggest Secret - Operation Paperclip 🇺🇸

In the north of Alabama is the city of Huntsville. It's here where German scientists built NASA in secrecy after World War II. Operation Paperclip is still s...
21 hours ago
tjdavis posted a photo
22 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Americans You’re Being Squeezed Out!
"Cheeki kea always nice to her you chime in and you're damn right! "
yesterday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Americans You’re Being Squeezed Out!
"Les Prone thanks for your support Dude! "
yesterday
Doc Vega posted a photo

The inconvenient truth

Trump spells it out!
yesterday
Sandy posted a photo
Wednesday
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post What Made the Founding Fathers of America so Brilliant?
Tuesday
Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Motives of Joe, to shit in the well by showing totally irrelevant proof?"
Tuesday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Less, Motives of Wyatt or Joe? What archeologist wouldn't want proof of Jesus as part of his…"
Tuesday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Less Prone, Considering Joe Rogan to be the gatekeeper of anything is just short of ridiculous the…"
Tuesday
Doc Vega posted a blog post
Tuesday
MAC posted a video

Don't Go To Hong Kong Now (Even on Connecting Flights)

Secure your privacy with Surfshark! Enter coupon code laowhy86 for an extra 3 months free at https://Surfshark.deals/laowhy86Article 23 in Hong Kong is real,...
Tuesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's video
Thumbnail

Terrorist Attack on Moscow - Ukraine Committing Suicide? | Larry C. Johnson

"...And I guess I'll just park this you tube here also for something to ponder from last year.…"
Tuesday
tjdavis posted photos
Tuesday
Less Prone posted a video

Climate: The Movie (The Cold Truth) NL

Deze nieuwe documentaire van de Britse filmmaker Martin Durkin toont aan dat klimaatalarm een verzonnen doembeeld is zonder enige wetenschappelijke basis. He...
Monday

© 2024   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted