Meet 'Silent Hunter' - China's New 'Armored Vehicle Slicing' Laser Gun

While politicians are more than willing to rattle their economic sabres at China, we suspect, after China flaunted a range of high-tech weaponry at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference in Dubai, we suspect Washington will slow its roll a little with any kinetic warmongery...

Let's start with lasers, says Popular Science's Jeffrey Lin and P.W.Singer...

Poly Technologies showed off The Silent Hunter, one of the world's most powerful laser weapons. It claims an output of at least 50-70 kilowatts, which would make it more powerful than the 33-kilowatt laser weapon systems (LaWS) currently deployed on the USS Ponce. The laser is probably based on a smaller anti-drone laser, the Low Altitude Guard. That's enough to knock out automobiles by burning out their engines from over a mile away, as the 30-kilowatt Lockheed Martin ATHENA laser demonstrated in 2015. The Silent Hunter uses fibre optic lasers (fibre optics doped with rare earth minerals), which provide weight savings over chemical lasers through increasing optical gain by kilometers of coiled fibre optics (as opposed to bulky chemical lasers). The Silent Hunter is likely to be scaled up and equipped with radars to complement its optical/infrared tracking system, making it a capable close range defense system against enemy missiles, artillery, drones and aircraft.

Meet 'Silent Hunter' - China's New 'Armored Vehicle Slicing' Laser Gun

Is it wrong to want one of these JUST so I can slice cars in half?

a reply to: Outlier13

Is it wrong to want one of these JUST so I can slice cars in half?

I was thinking more along the lines of using it at the next idiotic and hypocritical protest or congress.

a reply to: Outlier13

I'd hate to see it get rocked by an earthquake, activate, malfunction, and start spinning aimlessly out of control.

a reply to: LSU0408

Being chinese engeernering it will likely just overheat and catch on fire

What happens if it hits the rear-view mirror?

originally posted by: crazyewok
a reply to: LSU0408

Being chinese engeernering it will likely just overheat and catch on fire

LOLOL, or shrink everything like the jet.com commercials...

Ah so... we have razer weapon! sum yung gai gonna make you so ri!

I have to first chuckle at this. Maybe time to coat attacking vehicles in redirecting crystals controlled by computers to send it back towards source.

What china has is essentially a KNOCK OFF FEL laser system. I suggested to some that maybe we should invest in a huge one that can vaporize entire cities but so far no takers. All it take sis hooking i tup to 3 reactors running in sync.

originally posted by: yuppa
Ah so... we have razer weapon! sum yung gai gonna make you so ri!

I have to first chuckle at this. Maybe time to coat attacking vehicles in redirecting crystals controlled by computers to send it back towards source.

What china has is essentially a KNOCK OFF FEL laser system. I suggested to some that maybe we should invest in a huge one that can vaporize entire cities but so far no takers. All it take sis hooking i tup to 3 reactors running in sync.

Might be cheaper to build an LEO giant mirror?

originally posted by: pikestaff

originally posted by: yuppa
Ah so... we have razer weapon! sum yung gai gonna make you so ri!

I have to first chuckle at this. Maybe time to coat attacking vehicles in redirecting crystals controlled by computers to send it back towards source.

What china has is essentially a KNOCK OFF FEL laser system. I suggested to some that maybe we should invest in a huge one that can vaporize entire cities but so far no takers. All it take sis hooking i tup to 3 reactors running in sync.

Might be cheaper to build an LEO giant mirror?

OH we need that too. It has to spin for targeting purposes.

It might be able to melt the metal on the surface, but it can't slice through anything without something pushing the melted metal away it would just create a puddle of slag. Think of how plasma cutting and air carbon arc cutting works.

Plasma Cutting

Air carbon arc cutting

originally posted by: Jdubious
It might be able to melt the metal on the surface, but it can't slice through anything without something pushing the melted metal away it would just create a puddle of slag. Think of how plasma cutting and air carbon arc cutting works.

Plasma Cutting

Air carbon arc cutting

Depends on the lasers power and what is its carrier. the FEL laser tested by our weapons manufacturers literally vaporized steel in split seconds. Not slagged. vaporized. or that is what I was told.

originally posted by: Jdubious
It might be able to melt the metal on the surface, but it can't slice through anything without something pushing the melted metal away it would just create a puddle of slag. Think of how plasma cutting and air carbon arc cutting works.

Plasma Cutting

Air carbon arc cutting

Wouldn't that extreme heat in an extremely small surface area just vaporize the material?

In traditional Oxy-fuel cutting of steel the oxygen stream is used to pierce the metal after it is heated past its 1800 degree "kindling" temp. A pure oxygen cutting operation is only usable on low carbon steel and some alloys as the introduction of oxygen into the material during the cutting process "oxidizes" the material and on most materials it ends up creating a base material with a higher melting point than that of the original base material. Now lasers that can produce enough heat in concentration have the benefit of no additional oxygen being added to the material so vaporization is actually easier to achieve since the chemical properties of the metal are not being altered.

I have seen a CO2 laser do some pretty cool cutting of thin materials and can only imagine what 70KW of laser on a small diameter contact area can do.

originally posted by: yuppa

originally posted by: Jdubious
It might be able to melt the metal on the surface, but it can't slice through anything without something pushing the melted metal away it would just create a puddle of slag. Think of how plasma cutting and air carbon arc cutting works.

Plasma Cutting

Air carbon arc cutting

Depends on the lasers power and what is its carrier. the FEL laser tested by our weapons manufacturers literally vaporized steel in split seconds. Not slagged. vaporized. or that is what I was told.

A smoke grenade system composed of the same stuff to defeat flir would defeat a laser system.

Laser weaponry to some seems like the holy grail.

It isn't one.

a reply to: evc1shop

NAvys Laser plans for scaling up to MEgawatt class lasers.

With all the advanced weaponry they are creating, nobody will have a chance if they start a war. Our government has similar weaponry. Why do people like all this killing stuff, what is wrong with living in peace. You build it, then to justify the high expense it you need to use it.

originally posted by: yuppa
a reply to: evc1shop

NAvys Laser plans for scaling up to MEgawatt class lasers.

Thanks, I have seen this before. I have only played with 200 Watt and smaller lasers but I am aware of the FEL and others. My brother designs power supplies for the Navy and I hear what I am able to hear.

originally posted by: neo96
A smoke grenade system composed of the same stuff to defeat flir would defeat a laser system.

Laser weaponry to some seems like the holy grail.

It isn't one.

Um Neo. not totaslly. and if you can change the attenuation by adding more electrons to the stream easily defeatable. Its why Fog and mist are no problems for the CUrrent one our navy has.

Now make it a SMoke grenade with mirror dust then you might get a good defense...or it may turn th ebeam into many little beams liek a laser shotgun.

originally posted by: neo96
A smoke grenade system composed of the same stuff to defeat flir would defeat a laser system.

Laser weaponry to some seems like the holy grail.

It isn't one.

The other issue, as I imagine this is a fast weapon, would be the need to have the special smoke grenades effective constantly. Lots of pollution, poisoned lungs, plants, etc.

Laser's are vicious and can be operated from quite a distance. I have had nightmares of some such weapon being used on crowds of people/dissenters. A quiet slaughter, that's what I call it. No residual gas or poison, no negative biological impact, just bodies to remove.

a reply to: StoutBroux

The other issue, as I imagine this is a fast weapon, would be the need to have the special smoke grenades effective constantly

Every weapon system has a counter measure.