Laser Air Defense System

This fall, Raytheon intends to test a laser weapon that can actually work and perform a military mission. The key, says Raytheon directed energy vice-president Mike Booen: the company looked for a requirement that needed the laser's speed-of-light engagement and that could be met with off-the-shelf technology.

Two years ago, Raytheon performed a ground test in which two 60 mm mortar rounds were destroyed at 500 m range using an off-the-shelf commercial fiber laser - a 20 kW unit of the type used for welding and other industrial processes. This has now led to the prototype Laser Air Defense System (LADS), combining a 50 kW fiber laser and a beam director attached to a Phalanx gun mount.

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You would sleep better at night knowing this was protecting
your base.

Honestly I don't know how they can do this.The fact is the space between the laser and the mortar/rocket, would absorb most of the heat.
I know they have done the tests (Supposedly) but it just astounds me how they can put that much heat that far away in one spot instantly.
Putting light there sure, but light with enough heat energy to explode a rocket?Which is made to withstand massive heat from its engine?
If you moved a metal cutting laser just 6 inches further away from the metal, it can take an extra 19 hours to cut through it.
I still personally think its half a con job to get people to invest in the stock.

Originally posted by Being_From_Earth
Honestly I don't know how they can do this.The fact is the space between the laser and the mortar/rocket, would absorb most of the heat.
I know they have done the tests (Supposedly) but it just astounds me how they can put that much heat that far away in one spot instantly.
Putting light there sure, but light with enough heat energy to explode a rocket?Which is made to withstand massive heat from its engine?
If you moved a metal cutting laser just 6 inches further away from the metal, it can take an extra 19 hours to cut through it.
I still personally think its half a con job to get people to invest in the stock.

You are right to be concerned - however this is a 50,000 watt laser, not the usual 2500 watt industrial laser, and it is in the IR bandwidth as all of the air defense and missile defense lasers are, so it is a bit more aggressive than your normal everyday welder.

Northrop will have a mobile 100,000 watt solid state air defense laser ready for testing by the end of the year, and any potential buyers of the Raytheon LADS would do well to wait on the Northrop system. As the diode cooling issues are ironed out more you will see the 100kw laser used onboard aircraft, particularly the F-35 which is slated to get one by approx 2015.

Originally posted by Being_From_Earth
If you moved a metal cutting laser just 6 inches further away from the metal, it can take an extra 19 hours to cut through it.

I should imagine that a metal cutting laser is focused to a point at the normal cutting distance for performance and safety reasons, if it worked like a laser pointer you'd be accidental cutting holes through what ever was behind the metal your cutting.

The photo does look like a mock up or test mount though since you haven't got any targetting radar and it looks like the the ammuntion drum for the Phalanx is still there.

Had a look on the Raytheon site, looks like that white box is just the beam director. The laser and chiller took up about half a semi-trailer and then you need an electricity supply.

Looked like it took about 2 seconds to detonate the mortar (on a test stand) I guess a shell would take longer.

is this system somewhat similar to THEL or MTHEL ?.. sounds much better for the use in a rocket shield system. than the rocket system they are currently trying to get in use.

Is this the beginning of the end for maned combat air sorties? Very difficult using counter measures against a weapon that operates at the speed of light.

Originally posted by MarkLuitzen
is this system somewhat similar to THEL or MTHEL ?.. sounds much better for the use in a rocket shield system. than the rocket system they are currently trying to get in use.

THEL & M-THEL are chemical lasers of an exponentially higher power and range than the solid state Raytheon 20kw LADS system.