China unveils laser drone defence system

China unveils laser drone defence system


I thought this was interesting.
A tested system for bringing drones down that "works".

And plans to scale up for bigger craft.

Anyone else know of this project?

China has developed a highly accurate laser weapon system that can shoot down light drones at low altitude, state media reported.

The machine has a 1.2-mile range and can bring down “various small aircraft” within five seconds of locating its target, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a statement by the China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP), one of the developers.

Xinhua showed pictures of large metal boxes in camouflage paint and the wreckage of a small drone, some of it burning.

The laser system is expected to “play a key role in ensuring security during major events in urban areas” and address concerns on unlicensed mapping activities, according to Xinhua. It is effective up to a maximum altitude of 500 metres and against aircraft flying at up to 50 metres per second (112mph), Xinhua said.

a reply to: grey580

A lot of countries are working on something similar. AntiUAV systems are going to be huge with all the UAVs out there now.

All fine and dandy until somebody deposits a few atoms thick layer of copper on the drones surface.

If true ? then finally there is something that can bring down those assassins

a reply to: grey580 Of course they will use these to prevent video of protests from being disseminated. Kinda like Ferguson, Mo PD getting a no fly zone enacted just to stifle media overflies.

Where I come from our anti-UAV techniques come down to wrist rockets and .22's

Ok then let's not tell them about a
counter of an underbelly made of
mirrors.

a reply to: grey580
Did'nt China hack into Isreal's defence contractors a few months back and steal the schematic's for the Iron Dome defence screen as well as who knows what else?.
Israel were apparently working on such a alteration to cope with the increasing popularity of micro drones fired from the west bank.
They also hacked American Defence contractor's, British and European defence etcetera to odd's on this this is something they have copied from one of these sources and may be already in operation in one of these nations but they are confident enough to boast about it.

a reply to: LABTECH767

how did China become the premeire country when it comes to hacking and stealing secrets?? It seems like they do it so much, but know one can officially call them out on it.

a reply to: American-philosopher

they have more people.
?

originally posted by: CraftBuilder
All fine and dandy until somebody deposits a few atoms thick layer of copper on the drones surface.

and makes their radar X-section 20 times bigger?

1.2 mile range?

Is there even a UAV in the US' inventory that is capable of deploying munitions that flies that low regularly?

Color me skeptical but this system will only be effective against the small RC-type UAV's that are primarily used for light reconnaissance and not anything that does heavy lifting or makes big explosions.

a reply to: mbkennel

True but there are other laser diffracting materials that do not do so, so his point does actually stand this defence system will only work for a limited time and can be bypassed by such methods, also it may have an ablative layer that absorbs or scatters that radar while having laser resistant materials in a second skin underneath which would mean that the though the laser might remove some of the ablative material the laser and heat resistant layer underneath would be only slightly exposed and so even then the radar signature would be minimized.
Alternatively cheap targeting drones used to identify were the laser defence system as located by using it's own laser to pin point it followed by precision guided ordinance to knock the defence system out of commission.
Never put all your eggs in one basket as they say, you would think the Chinese would have read Sun Tzu by now.

a reply to: American-philosopher
Well they are trained by the west, greed made our corporations open chip plants there, train there people up to the level that they are now the most highly skilled IC engineers on the planet (Forget silicon valley they outsourced to china and trained them instead of there own people).
The corporate policy's effectively destroyed the economy of the west, they took the skill's to Asia and shat on us.
They are not more intelligent at all but they have a drive in a society of extremes of poverty and wealth to become educated and then to make wealth, computer skill was and maybe still is seen as a very easy way to do this there, this means that even in school they are being taught computer skills to a more effective level by better trained computer teachers than in the majority of western nations, indeed many of our grad students are not as good as Chinese senior school kid's when it comes to IT.

originally posted by: mbkennel

originally posted by: CraftBuilder
All fine and dandy until somebody deposits a few atoms thick layer of copper on the drones surface.

and makes their radar X-section 20 times bigger?

I don't know. Does it?

a reply to: grey580

Not really a viable weapons system, as it relies on a lot of power ... easy to counter, if it comes to it, and only usable on lesser capable countries weapons.

originally posted by: American-philosopher
a reply to: LABTECH767

how did China become the premeire country when it comes to hacking and stealing secrets??

They don't "hack" or "steal" secrets ... it's being given to them through "non official channels", just like the Israelis got nukes and Plutonium. The same applies to the Iranians, India and Pakistan. The Chinese just don't have the intellect to ask themselves "why", although they "should" but are a bit to arrogant to realize. But that's another story ... same as with the Russians, and Chinese when it comes to atomic weapons. It's being distributed in close circles.

Now, ask yourself as to what the purpose is .... then we can get down to an interresting discussion.

a reply to: grey580

1.2 miles seems rather insignificant when compared to the range of most surface to air missiles these days. Technology needs to mature somewhat before it's really viable, I imagine being able to down a target at around 15-20km would be the goal. I suppose the curvature of the earth and atmospheric conditions are also a factors to consider regarding the systems affective kill range.

a reply to: grey580

Lasers aren't viable as weapons, this is just another "emtpy" idea that the Chinese are buying hook, line and sinker. I think we were down this road, already in the sixties and abandoned it. If I recall correctly, both the Russians and the Americans have high powered lasers, capable of shooting down satelites.

Problem with these systems, is that they need enormous amount of energy ... a laser isn't something you charge, store and discharge at a later time. It's something you have to have up and running ... so, for this to be mobile, you have to have a high powered unit, mobile and actively running, prior to discharge. Those 5 seconds, is just "if you got the motor running already" scenario.

Now, a plasma weapon ... now, there's something to look at ... if the storage problem is solved.

a reply to: bjarneorn

so far this is just for small drones.

And like others have pointed out as well it needs work for bigger stuff.

Personally I like the lightning gun that was invented.

a reply to: bjarneorn

I get that the US have secret weapons for quiet wars but they have only recently started deploying and developing laser systems so I don't see how you could say that they've abandoned it.