The use of laser weapons in the interests of ground forces differs significantly from their use in the air force. The range of application is significantly limited: by the horizon line, terrain relief and objects located on it. The density of the atmosphere at the surface is maximum, smoke, fog and other obstacles do not dissipate for a long time in calm weather. And finally, from a purely military point of view, most of the ground targets are armored, to one degree or another, and to burn through the armor of a tank, not only gigawatt but terawatt powers are required.
In this regard, most of the laser weapons of ground forces are intended for air and missile defense (air defense / missile defense) or blinding enemy sights. There is also a specific application of the laser against mines and unexploded ordnance.
One of the first laser systems designed to blind enemy devices was the 1K11 Stilett self-propelled laser complex (SLK), which was adopted by the Soviet army in 1982. SLK "Stilet" is designed to disable the optoelectronic systems of tanks, self-propelled artillery installations and other ground combat and reconnaissance vehicles, low-flying helicopters.
After detecting a target, the Stilett SLK performs its laser probing, and after detecting the optical equipment through the glare lenses, it strikes it with a powerful laser pulse, blinding or burning out a sensitive element - a photocell, a photosensitive matrix or even the retina of an aiming soldier's eye.
In 1983, the Sanguine complex was put into service, optimized for engaging air targets, with a more compact beam guidance system and an increased speed of the turn drives in the vertical plane.
After the collapse of the USSR, in 1992, the SLK 1K17 "Compression" was adopted, its distinctive feature is the use of a multichannel laser with 12 optical channels (upper and lower row of lenses). The multichannel scheme made it possible to make the laser installation multi-band in order to exclude the possibility of counteracting the defeat of the enemy's optics by installing filters that block radiation of a certain wavelength.
Another interesting complex is Gazprom's Combat Laser - a mobile laser technological complex MLTK-50, designed for remote cutting of pipes and metal structures. The complex is located on two machines; its main element is a gas-dynamic laser with a power of about 50 kW. As tests have shown, the power of the laser installed on the MLTK-50 makes it possible to cut ship steel up to 120 mm thick from a distance of 30 m.
The main task, within which the use of laser weapons was considered, was the tasks of air defense and missile defense. For this, the Terra-3 program was implemented in the USSR, within the framework of which a huge amount of work was carried out on lasers of various types. In particular, such types of lasers as solid-state lasers, high-power photodissociation iodine lasers, electric-discharge photodissociation lasers, megawatt-frequency pulsed lasers with electron beam ionization, and others were considered. Studies of laser optics were carried out, which made it possible to solve the problem of forming an extremely narrow beam and its ultra-precise aiming at a target.
Due to the specificity of the used lasers and technologies of that time, all laser systems developed under the Terra-3 program were stationary, but even this did not allow creating a laser, the power of which would ensure the solution of missile defense problems.
Almost in parallel with the Terra-3 program, the Omega program was launched, within the framework of which the laser complexes were supposed to solve air defense problems. However, the tests carried out within the framework of this program also did not allow the creation of a laser complex of sufficient power. Using the previous developments, an attempt was again made to create an Omega-2 air defense laser complex based on a gas-dynamic laser. During the tests, the complex hit the RUM-2B target and several other targets, but the complex never entered the troops.
Unfortunately, due to the post-perestroika degradation of domestic science and industry, apart from the mysterious Peresvet complex, there is no information about Russian-designed ground-based laser air defense systems.
In 2017, information appeared about the placement of the Polyus Research Institute of a tender for an integral part of research work (R&D), the purpose of which is to create a mobile laser complex to combat small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in daytime and twilight conditions. The complex should consist of a tracking system and the construction of target flight trajectories, providing target designation for the guidance system of laser radiation, the source of which will be a liquid laser. On the demo model, it is required to implement the detection and acquisition of a detailed image of up to 20 air objects at a distance of 200 to 1500 meters, with the ability to distinguish the UAV from a bird or a cloud, it is required to calculate the trajectory and hit the target. The maximum contract price stated in the tender is 23.5 million rubles. Completion of work is scheduled for April 2018. According to the final protocol, the only participant and winner of the competition is the Shvabe company.
What conclusions can be drawn on the basis of the terms of reference (TOR) from the composition of the tender documentation? The work is carried out within the framework of research, there is no information about the completion of work, the receipt of the result and the opening of experimental design work (R&D). In other words, in case of successful completion of research and development, the complex can be created presumably in 2020-2021.
The requirement to detect and engage targets during the day and at dusk means the absence of radar and thermal imaging reconnaissance equipment in the complex. The estimated laser power can be estimated at 5-15 kW.
In the West, the development of laser weapons in the interests of air defense has received tremendous development. The USA, Germany and Israel can be singled out as leaders. However, other countries are also developing their samples of ground-based laser weapons.
In the United States, several companies are conducting combat laser programs at once, which were already mentioned in the first and second articles. Almost all companies that develop laser systems initially assume their placement on carriers of various types - changes are made to the design that correspond to the specificity of the carrier, but the basic part of the complex remains unchanged.
It can only be mentioned that the 5 kW GDLS laser complex developed for the Stryker armored personnel carrier by the Boeing company can be considered the closest to being put into service. The resulting complex was named "Stryker MEHEL 2.0", its task is to combat small-sized UAVs in conjunction with other air defense systems. During the tests "Maneuver Fires Integrated Experiment" conducted in 2016 in the United States, the complex "Stryker MEHEL 2.0" hit 21 targets out of 23 launched.
On the latest version of the complex, electronic warfare (EW) systems are additionally installed to suppress communication channels and position the UAV. Boeing plans to consistently increase the laser power, first to 10 kW, and subsequently to 60 kW.
In 2018, the experimental Stryker MEHEL 2.0 armored personnel carrier was transferred to the base of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the US Army (Germany) for field trials and participation in exercises.
For Israel, the problems of air and missile defense are among the highest priorities. Moreover, the main targets to be hit are not enemy planes and helicopters, but mortar ammunition and homemade missiles of the "Kassam" type. Given the emergence of a huge number of civilian UAVs that can be used to move improvised aerial bombs and explosives, their defeat also becomes the task of air defense / missile defense.
The low cost of homemade weapons makes it unprofitable to defeat them with rocket weapons.
In this regard, the Israeli armed forces had a quite understandable interest in laser weapons.
The first samples of Israeli laser weapons date back to the mid-seventies. Like the rest of the country at the time, Israel started out with chemical and gas dynamic lasers. The most perfect example is the THEL chemical laser based on deuterium fluoride with a power of up to two megawatts. During testing in 2000-2001, the THEL laser complex destroyed 28 unguided rockets and 5 artillery shells moving along ballistic trajectories.
As already mentioned, chemical lasers have no prospects, and are interesting only from the point of view of developing technologies, therefore both the THEL complex and the Skyguard system developed on its basis remained experimental samples.
In 2014, at the Singapore Air Show, the Rafael aerospace concern presented a prototype of an air defense / missile defense laser complex, which received the symbol "Iron Beam" ("Iron Beam"). The equipment of the complex is located in one autonomous module and can be used both stationary and placed on wheeled or tracked chassis.
As a means of destruction, a system of solid-state lasers with a power of 10-15 kW is used. One anti-aircraft battery of the "Iron Beam" complex consists of two laser installations, a guidance radar and a fire control center.
At the moment, the adoption of the system into service has been postponed until the 2020s. Obviously, this is due to the fact that the power of 10-15 kW is insufficient for the tasks being solved by the air defense / missile defense of Israel, and its increase is required at least to 50-100 kW.
Also, there was information about the development of the defensive complex "Shield of Gedeon", which includes missile and laser weapons, as well as electronic warfare means. Complex "Shield of Gedeon" is designed to protect ground units operating on the front line, details of its characteristics were not disclosed.
In 2012, the German company Rheinmetall tested a 50 kilowatt laser cannon, consisting of two 30 kW and 20 kW complexes, designed to intercept mortar shells in flight, as well as to destroy other ground and air targets. During the tests, a 15 mm thick steel beam was cut from a distance of one kilometer and two light UAVs were destroyed from a distance of three kilometers. The required power is obtained by summing the required number of 10 kW modules.
A year later, during trials in Switzerland, the company demonstrated an M113 armored personnel carrier with a 5 kW laser and a Tatra 8x8 truck with two 10 kW lasers.
In 2015 at DSEI 2015, Rheinmetall presented a 20 kW laser module installed on a Boxer 8x8.
And at the beginning of 2019, Rheinmetall announced a successful test of a 100 kW laser combat complex. The complex includes a high-power source of energy, a laser radiation generator, a controlled optical resonator that forms a directed laser beam, a guidance system responsible for searching, detecting, recognizing and tracking targets, followed by pointing and holding the laser beam. The guidance system provides 360-degree all-round visibility and a vertical guidance angle of 270 degrees.
The laser complex can be placed on land, air and sea carriers, which is ensured by the modular design. The equipment complies with the European set of standards EN DIN 61508 and can be integrated with the MANTIS air defense system, which is in service with the Bundeswehr.
Tests carried out in December 2018 showed good results, indicating a possible imminent launch of the weapon into mass production. UAVs and mortar rounds were used as targets to test the capabilities of the weapon.
Rheinmetall has consistently, year after year, developed laser technologies, and as a result, it can become one of the first manufacturers to offer customers mass-produced combat laser systems of sufficiently high power.
Other countries are trying to keep up with the leaders in the development of promising laser weapons.
At the end of 2018, the Chinese corporation CASIC announced the start of export deliveries of the LW-30 short-range laser air defense system. The LW-30 complex is based on two machines - on one is the combat laser itself, on the other a radar for detecting air targets.
According to the manufacturer, a 30 kW laser is capable of striking UAVs, aerial bombs, mortar mines and other similar objects at a distance of up to 25 km.
The Turkish Defense Industry Secretariat has successfully tested a 20 kilowatt combat laser, which is being developed as part of the ISIN project. During testing, the laser burned through several types of ship armor with a thickness of 22 mm from a distance of 500 meters. The laser is planned to be used to destroy UAVs at a range of up to 500 meters, and to destroy improvised explosive devices at a range of up to 200 meters.
How will ground-based laser systems develop and improve?
The development of ground-based combat lasers will largely correlate with their aviation counterparts, with the allowance for the fact that deploying combat lasers on ground-based carriers is an easier task than integrating them into an aircraft design. Accordingly, the power of lasers will grow - 100 kW by 2025, 300-500 kW by 2035, and so on.
Taking into account the specifics of the ground theater of hostilities, complexes with a lower power of 20-30 kW, but of minimal dimensions, allowing them to be placed in the armament of armored combat vehicles, will be in demand.
Thus, in the period from 2025, there will be a gradual saturation of the battlefield, both with specialized combat laser systems and modules that are integrated with other types of weapons.
What are the consequences of saturating the battlefield with lasers?
First of all, the role of high-precision weapons (WTO) will be noticeably reduced, the doctrine of General Douai will again go to the regiment.
As in the case of air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, WTO samples, with optical and thermal imaging guidance, are the most vulnerable to laser weapons. The Javelin-type ATM and its analogs will suffer, and the capabilities of aerial bombs and missiles with a combined guidance system will decrease. The simultaneous use of laser defense systems and electronic warfare systems will further aggravate the situation.
Gliding bombs, especially small-diameter bombs with a dense layout and low speed, will become easy targets for laser weapons. If anti-laser protection is installed, the dimensions will increase, as a result of which such bombs will fit less into the arms of modern combat aircraft.
It will not be easy for a UAV with a short range. The low cost of such UAVs makes it unprofitable to defeat them with anti-aircraft guided missiles (SAMs), and the small size, as experience shows, prevents them from being hit by cannon armament. For laser weapons, such UAVs, on the contrary, are the simplest targets of all.
Also, laser air defense systems will increase the security of military bases from mortar and artillery shelling.
Combined with the perspectives outlined for combat aviation in the previous article, the ability to deliver air strikes and air support will be significantly reduced. The average “check” for hitting a ground target, especially a mobile target, will noticeably increase. Air bombs, shells, mortar mines, and low-speed missiles will need to be refined in order to install anti-laser protection. Advantages will be given to WTO samples with a minimum time spent in the zone of destruction by laser weapons.
Laser defense systems, placed on tanks and other armored vehicles, will complement active defense systems, ensuring the defeat of missiles with thermal or optical guidance at a greater distance from the protected vehicle. They can also be used against ultra-small UAVs and enemy personnel. The turn speed of the optical systems is many times higher than the turn speed of cannons and machine guns, which will make it possible to hit grenade launchers and ATGM operators within a few seconds after their detection.
Lasers placed on armored combat vehicles can also be used against optical reconnaissance equipment of the enemy, but due to the specifics of the conditions of ground combat operations, effective protection measures can be provided against this, however, we will talk about this in the corresponding material.
All of the above will significantly increase the role of tanks and other armored combat vehicles on the battlefield. The range of clashes will largely shift to line-of-sight battles. The most effective weapons will be high-velocity projectiles and hypersonic missiles.
In the unlikely confrontation "laser on the ground" - "laser in the air" the first will always come out the winner, since the level of protection of ground equipment and the ability to place massive equipment on the surface will always be higher than in the air.
