Laser weapons are always controversial. Some consider it a weapon of the future, while others categorically deny the likelihood of effective samples of such weapons in the near future. People thought about laser weapons even before their actual appearance, let us recall the classic work "The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin" by Alexei Tolstoy (of course, the work does not indicate exactly a laser, but a weapon close to it in action and consequences of using it).
The creation of a real laser in the 50s - 60s of the XX century again raised the topic of laser weapons. Over the decades, it has become an indispensable feature of science fiction films. Real successes were much more modest. Yes, lasers occupied an important niche in reconnaissance and target designation systems, they are widely used in industry, but for use as a means of destruction, their power was still insufficient, and their weight and size characteristics were unacceptable. How did laser technologies evolve, to what extent are they ready for military applications at the present time?
The first operational laser was created in 1960. It was a pulsed solid-state laser based on an artificial ruby. At the time of creation, these were the highest technologies. Nowadays, such a laser can be assembled at home, while its pulse energy can reach 100 J.
A nitrogen laser is even simpler to implement; complex commercial products are not required for its implementation; it can even operate on nitrogen contained in the atmosphere. With straight arms, it can be easily assembled at home.
Since the creation of the first laser, a huge number of ways to obtain laser radiation have been found. There are solid state lasers, gas lasers, dye lasers, free electron lasers, fiber lasers, semiconductor lasers, and other lasers. Also, lasers differ in the way they are excited. For example, in gas lasers of various designs, the active medium can be excited by optical radiation, electric current discharge, chemical reaction, nuclear pumping, thermal pumping (gas dynamic lasers, GDLs). The advent of semiconductor lasers gave rise to lasers of the DPSS type (Diode-pumped solid-state laser).
Various designs of lasers provide output of radiation of different wavelengths, from soft X-rays to infrared radiation. Hard X-ray and gamma lasers are in development. This allows you to select a laser based on the problem being solved. With regard to military applications, this means, for example, the possibility of choosing a laser, with radiation of such a wavelength that is minimally absorbed by the atmosphere of the planet.
Since the development of the first prototype, the power has been continuously increasing, the weight and size characteristics and the efficiency (efficiency) of the lasers have improved. This is very clearly seen in the example of laser diodes. In the 90s of the last century, laser pointers with a power of 2-5 mW appeared on the wide sale, in 2005-2010 it was already possible to purchase a laser pointer of 200-300 mW, now, in 2019, there are laser pointers with an optical power of 7 on sale. TueIn Russia, there are modules of infrared laser diodes with fiber optic output, optical power of 350 W.
The rate of increase in the power of laser diodes is comparable to the rate of increase in the computing power of processors, in accordance with Moore's law. Of course, laser diodes are not suitable for creating combat lasers, but they, in turn, are used to pump efficient solid-state and fiber lasers. For laser diodes, the efficiency of converting electrical energy into optical energy can be over 50%, theoretically, you can get an efficiency over 80%. The high efficiency not only lowers the power supply requirements, but also simplifies the cooling of the laser equipment.
An important element of the laser is the beam focusing system - the smaller the spot area on the target, the higher the power density that allows damage. Progress in the development of complex optical systems and the emergence of new high-temperature optical materials make it possible to create highly efficient focusing systems. The focusing and aiming system of the American experimental combat laser HEL includes 127 mirrors, lenses and light filters.
Another important component providing the possibility of creating laser weapons is the development of systems for guiding and keeping the beam on the target. To hit targets with an "instant" shot, in a split second, gigawatt powers are needed, but the creation of such lasers and power supplies for them on a mobile chassis is a matter of the distant future. Accordingly, in order to destroy targets with lasers with a power of hundreds of kilowatts - tens of megawatts, it is necessary to keep the laser radiation spot on the target for some time (from several seconds to several tens of seconds). This requires high-precision and high-speed drives capable of tracking the target with the laser beam, according to the guidance system.
When firing at long ranges, the guidance system must compensate for the distortions introduced by the atmosphere, for which several lasers for various purposes can be used in the guidance system, providing accurate guidance of the main "combat" laser to the target.
What lasers have received priority development in the field of armaments? Due to the absence of powerful sources of optical pumping, gas-dynamic and chemical lasers have become such.
At the end of the 20th century, public opinion was stirred up by the American Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program. As part of this program, it was planned to deploy laser weapons on the ground and in space to defeat Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). For placement in orbit, it was supposed to use nuclear-pumped lasers emitting in the X-ray range or chemical lasers with a power of up to 20 megawatts.
The SDI program faced numerous technical difficulties and was closed. At the same time, some of the research carried out within the framework of the program made it possible to obtain sufficiently powerful lasers. In 1985, a deuterium fluoride laser with an output power of 2.2 megawatts destroyed a liquid-propellant ballistic missile fixed 1 kilometer from the laser. As a result of the 12-second irradiation, the walls of the rocket body lost strength and were destroyed by internal pressure.
In the USSR, the development of combat lasers was also carried out. In the eighties of the XX century, work was carried out to create the Skif orbital platform with a gas-dynamic laser with a power of 100 kW. The Skif-DM large-size mock-up (Polyus spacecraft) was launched into Earth's orbit in 1987, but due to a number of errors it did not enter the calculated orbit and was flooded in the Pacific Ocean along a ballistic trajectory. The collapse of the USSR put an end to this and similar projects.
Large-scale studies of laser weapons were carried out in the USSR as part of the Terra program. The program of the zonal missile and anti-space defense system with a beam striking element based on high-power laser weapons "Terra" was implemented from 1965 to 1992. According to open data, within the framework of this program, gas-dynamic lasers, solid-state lasers, explosive iodine photodissociation and other types were developed. lasers.
Also in the USSR, from the mid-70s of the XX century, an airborne laser complex A-60 was developed on the basis of the Il-76MD aircraft. Initially, the complex was intended to combat automatic drifting balloons. As a weapon, a continuous gas-dynamic CO-laser of a megawatt class developed by the Khimavtomatika Design Bureau (KBKhA) was to be installed.
As part of the tests, a family of GDT bench samples was created with a radiation power from 10 to 600 kW. It can be assumed that at the time of testing the A-60 complex, a 100 kW laser was installed on it.
Several dozen flights were carried out with the testing of the laser installation on a stratospheric balloon located at an altitude of 30-40 km and on the La-17 target. Some sources indicate that the complex with the A-60 aircraft was created as an aviation laser component of missile defense under the Terra-3 program.
What types of lasers are the most promising for military applications at the present time? With all the advantages of gas-dynamic and chemical lasers, they have significant disadvantages: the need for consumable components, launch inertia (according to some sources, up to one minute), significant heat release, large dimensions, and the yield of spent components of the active medium. Such lasers can only be placed on large media.
At the moment, solid-state and fiber lasers have the greatest prospects, for the operation of which it is only necessary to provide them with sufficient power. The US Navy is actively developing free electron laser technology. An important advantage of fiber lasers is their scalability, i.e. the ability to combine several modules to obtain more power. Reverse scalability is also important, if a solid-state laser with a power of 300 kW is created, then a smaller-sized laser with a power of, for example, 30 kW, can certainly be created on its basis.
What is the situation with fiber and solid-state lasers in Russia? The science of the USSR in terms of the development and creation of lasers was the most advanced in the world. Unfortunately, the collapse of the USSR changed everything. One of the world's largest companies for the development and production of fiber lasers IPG Photonics was founded by a native of Russia V. P. Gapontsev on the basis of the Russian company NTO IRE-Polyus. The parent company, IPG Photonics, is currently registered in the United States. Despite the fact that one of the largest production sites of IPG Photonics is located in Russia (Fryazino, Moscow region), the company operates under US law and its lasers cannot be used in the Russian armed forces, including the company must comply with the sanctions imposed on Russia.
However, the capabilities of IPG Photonics' fiber lasers are extremely high. IPG high power continuous wave fiber lasers have a power range from 1 kW to 500 kW, as well as a wide range of wavelengths, and the efficiency of converting electrical energy to optical energy reaches 50%. The divergence characteristics of IPG fiber lasers are far superior to other high power lasers.
Are there other developers and manufacturers of modern high-power fiber and solid-state lasers in Russia? Judging by the commercial samples, no.
A domestic manufacturer in the industrial segment offers gas lasers with a maximum power of tens of kW. For example, the company "Laser Systems" in 2001 presented an oxygen-iodine laser with a power of 10 kW with a chemical efficiency exceeding 32%, which is the most promising compact autonomous source of powerful laser radiation of this type. In theory, oxygen-iodine lasers can reach power levels of up to one megawatt.
At the same time, it cannot be completely ruled out that Russian scientists have managed to make a breakthrough in some other direction of creating high-power lasers, based on a deep understanding of the physics of laser processes.
In 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the Peresvet laser complex, designed to solve anti-missile defense missions and destroy enemy orbiters. Information about the Peresvet complex is classified, including the type of laser used (lasers?) And optical power.
It can be assumed that the most likely candidate for installation in this complex is a gas-dynamic laser, a descendant of the laser being developed for the A-60 program. In this case, the optical power of the laser of the "Peresvet" complex can be 200-400 kilowatts, in the optimistic scenario up to 1 megawatt. The previously mentioned oxygen-iodine laser can be considered as another candidate.
If we proceed from this, then on the side of the cabin of the main vehicle of the Peresvet complex, a diesel or gasoline generator of electric current, a compressor, a storage compartment for chemical components, a laser with a cooling system, and a laser beam guidance system are presumably located in series. Radar or target detection OLS is nowhere to be seen, which implies external target designation.
In any case, these assumptions may turn out to be false, both in connection with the possibility of creating fundamentally new lasers by domestic developers, and in connection with the lack of reliable information on the optical power of the Peresvet complex. In particular, there was information in the press about the presence of a small-sized nuclear reactor as a source of energy in the "Peresvet" complex. If this is true, then the configuration of the complex and the possible characteristics may be completely different.
What power is needed for a laser to be effectively used for military purposes as a means of destruction? This largely depends on the intended range of use and the nature of the targets hit, as well as the method of their destruction.
The Vitebsk airborne self-defense complex includes an L-370-3S active jammer station. It counteracts incoming enemy missiles with a thermal homing head by blinding infrared laser radiation. Taking into account the dimensions of the L-370-3S active jammer station, the power of the laser emitter is a maximum of several tens of watts. This is hardly enough to destroy the missile's thermal homing head, but it is quite enough for temporary blinding.
During the tests of the A-60 complex with a 100 kW laser, the L-17 targets, representing an analogue of a jet aircraft, were hit. The range of destruction is unknown, it can be assumed that it was about 5-10 km.
Examples of tests of foreign laser systems:
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Based on the above, we can assume:
- to destroy small UAVs at a distance of 1-5 kilometers, a laser with a power of 2-5 kW is required;
- to destroy unguided mines, shells, and high-precision ammunition at a distance of 5-10 kilometers, a laser with a power of 20-100 kW is required;
- to hit targets such as an airplane or a missile at a distance of 100-500 km, a laser with a power of 1-10 MW is required.
Lasers of the indicated powers either already exist or will be created in the foreseeable future. What types of laser weapons in the near future can be used by the air forces, ground forces and the navy, we will consider in the continuation of this article.
