The Reality of the Laser

a reply to: Scratchpost

They were intercepted too high for a laser. Ballistic missiles are intercepted outside the atmosphere. What’s left burns up as it reenters, and gets into the thicker atmosphere.

The US confirms operational laser. They don't say where it's been deployed but it's been implied that it was used against the Iranian attack on Israel.



www.military.com...


Quote from the link.

While the service declined to specify where the P-HEL systems were deployed, citing operational security, the Defense Department's top spokesman had previously suggested that directed-energy weapons were part of the defensive arsenal of U.S. military forces in the Middle East currently subject to the ongoing drone and missile attacks since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October.

a reply to: 5thHead

There's nothing in there implying it was used. They most likely deployed to Syria or Iraq. Even though P-HEL is considered high power, it's not going to have anywhere near the range of Iron Beam or something similar, so it would have to be pretty close to the UAV to shoot it down.

originally posted by: Zaphod58

There's nothing in there implying it was used.

Except the part where they say it's been operational for two years. And the videos where things start to glow and then break up one by one.

They most likely deployed to Syria or Iraq.

They most likely deployed them to Israel as that's what the quote indicates, and the US had ample knowledge of the attack beforehand.

a reply to: 5thHead

That's what YOU want the quote to mean. They clearly said that it was deployed to US facilities to protect them. But you seem to desperately want to believe that lasers were used. So tell me, if one laser, at 100kw goes 10 km, and this is 20km, and no UAVs reached into Israeli airspace, and neither works against ballistic missiles, how exactly did they shoot down ballistic missiles with a laser. Tell me that.

Do you understand the flight path of a ballistic missile? It goes exoatmospheric, where it's intercepted by Arrow or SM-3, or another ABM system. That debris from what's left of the missile reenters the atmosphere, where it glows as it goes through the plasma phase of reentry, and then proceeds to break up.

a reply to: Zaphod58

LOL. I'm not desperate. Just having some fun talking about lasers.

But you seem to be desperate to say they weren't used. Why is that? Are you the laser police?

....when they say it was deployed to help Israel stop drones , then maybe that's what happened.

🧱

a reply to: 5thHead

They didn’t say it was deployed to help Israel stop drones though. They said it was deployed to protect US facilities and troops.

I’m not desperate to deny lasers were used. If you want to believe something that isn’t true, have fun with that. Personally, I prefer factual, provable information.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Zaph,

Off-topic, but wanted to mention my appreciation for the aviation expertise you've provided to forum members over the years. This site may shut down shortly, but the information you made available will be retained by some of us.



Cheers

originally posted by: Zaphod58

They didn’t say it was deployed to help Israel stop drones though.

Yes they did. They literally said exactly that.

"the Defense Department's top spokesman had previously suggested that directed-energy weapons were part of the defensive arsenal of U.S. military forces in the Middle East currently subject to the ongoing drone and missile attacks since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October."

That's from the article I linked to. I fail to see what makes you think the opposite of this quote.

I’m not desperate to deny lasers were used. If you want to believe something that isn’t true, have fun with that. Personally, I prefer factual, provable information.

Well you can't prove a negative. You don't know how ever single objects was taken out of the sky.


☄️

a reply to: Zaphod58

www.yahoo.com...

It's literally in the title of the article.

The Army Has Officially Deployed Laser Weapons Overseas to Combat Enemy Drones

Here's a good one from the article

"While the Army's top general responsible for counter-drone efforts had previously stated that several different laser weapons systems were undergoing "operational assessments" in the U.S. Central Command, U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command areas of responsibility, news of the P-HEL's operational employment marks the U.S. military's first publicly acknowledged deployment of a working laser weapon for air defense outside of experimental testing"

I repeat " working laser weapon for air defense outside of experimental testing.".

Why is this so hard to believe?

🦃