US Navy Research Director Rear Admiral Matthew Clander in one of his interviews touched upon a solid-state laser and Admiral Jonathan Greenert's announcement that such a laser will be installed on board a warship in 2014. “Our directed energy initiatives and especially solid-state laser are science and technology programs of the highest priority, Klander said. "The solid-state laser program is the backbone of our commitment to rapidly deliver advanced capabilities to frontline forces."
In the last decades of the 20th century, proponents of directed energy weapons (DEWs) promised that lasers and high-power energy weapons would revolutionize warfare. In many ways, this promise has become a reality in a different form as thousands of small lasers have filled the arsenals of modern military forces. These lasers, however, are mainly either rangefinder devices that increase the capabilities and effectiveness of kinetic weapons, or blinding devices that disable enemy optics. However, recent developments indicate that the possibilities of the ONE are becoming more real
Lasers, phasers, blasters, and electromagnetic cannons have become a part of the canon weaponry of science fiction, but the real problems associated with power, thermal capacity, size, and "the propensity to use directed energy weapons against fellow citizens" these systems are difficult to implement. Today, ONE technologies are mainly divided into: high-energy lasers HEL (high-energy laser), high-power microwave weapons HPM (high-power microwaves) and charged particle beams. The truth is that we are getting closer and closer to the day when ONE systems will become commonplace in combat space. This article provides an overview of several promising radio frequency and laser systems currently available and examines the most likely trends in the military application of GNE systems in the next ten years.
Active containment system (SAS)
The Active Denial System (ADS) is an affordable, deployed and combat-ready ONE system. SAS, sometimes referred to as heat ray or pain ray, was created by Raytheon, a world leader in the development and research of microwave radiation. It is one of the first non-lethal, targeted, anti-personnel systems deployed in the US military. SAS was created as a non-lethal crowd control and exclusion system. The vehicle-mounted system has been tested at a range of about one kilometer. SAS sends a focused beam of an extremely high frequency of 95 GHz towards an individual or group of people, causing severe pain. This energy causes a rise in the surface temperature of human skin, after a few seconds it becomes so uncomfortable that people are forced to leave the controlled area. Hundreds of tests have been carried out on humans, after which the SAS was certified as a non-lethal weapon. That said, doubts remain about the long-term health effects or what happens if a person has been exposed for a long time. SAS was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 but was never deployed and was sent back by skeptical field commanders. The SAS was demonstrated by the Marine Corps at Quantico in March 2012 and the Marines welcomed it with enthusiasm. "You won't hear it, you won't smell it, but you will feel it," said Colonel Tracy Tafolla, director of the joint non-lethal weapons division, "and that gives us some advantages that we can use."
Mobile high-power laser demonstrator HEL MD (High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator)
In mid-2007, two Phase I contracts were signed with Boeing and Northrop Grumman to develop a ground-based mobile laser system. In 2009, Boeing was allowed to continue its work and make a demonstration model mounted on the chassis of a heavy military all-terrain vehicle HEMTT. The system was tested with reduced capacity in 2011 at the White Sands test site. It demonstrated the ability of the system to capture, accompany and destroy flying ammunition. The next contract from the US Army Rocket and Space Agency, issued in October 2012, allowed these developments to continue. This contract is known as the Phase II High Power Testing contract; it provides for the installation by Boeing of a 10 kW solid-state laser in a mobile demonstration installation of a high-energy laser HEL MD (High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator). The next optional step could be the integration of a more powerful laser, the goal of which is to reduce the risk of using high power lasers. The upgraded HEL MD installation during operational tests will perform the capture, tracking, damage and destruction of targets.
“The Boeing HEL MD program uses the best solid-state laser technology to provide the army with light-speed capabilities to defend against missiles, artillery, mortars and drones, both today and in the future,” said the vice president and director of programs directed energy systems Mike Wrynn. Boeing expects the system to be completed and ready for production by 2018, with laser power increasing from 10 kW to 100 kW.
Experimental laser installation YAL-1 (former Airborne Laser)
The Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser Testbed, formerly ABL (Airborne Laser), is a weapon system based on a megawatt-class chemical oxygen-iodine laser mounted inside a modified Boeing 747-400F aircraft. It was created primarily as a missile defense system for the destruction of tactical ballistic missiles during the acceleration phase. The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) successfully fired a high-energy laser (HEL) aboard a flying aircraft for the first time in August 2009. In January 2010, during the flight, HEL was used to intercept rather than destroy a test missile during the acceleration phase. In February 2010, during tests off the coast of California, the system successfully destroyed a liquid-propellant missile on the acceleration phase of the trajectory. As stated in the MDA, less than an hour after the first missile was destroyed, the second missile, but already solid-fuel, was successfully intercepted (but not destroyed) and all the test criteria met the specified ones. The MDA statement also noted that ABL had destroyed an identical solid-propellant missile in flight eight days earlier. For the first time during testing, a directed energy system destroyed tactical ballistic missiles at any stage of flight. A report was later released that said that the first bombardment in February took 50% less irradiation time than expected to destroy the missile; the second shelling of the solid-propellant missile was turned off an hour later before the missile was destroyed due to problems with "beam misalignment". Funding for the program was cut in 2010 and then canceled altogether in December 2011. In 2013, research continued with the aim of using the experience gained with the YAL-1 laser system and trying to install an anti-missile laser system on drones that could fly above the altitude limit of a converted Boeing 747-400F jet airliner.
Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM)
Lockheed Martin has also been one of the leaders in the development of HEL-based weapon systems. Over the past few years, Lockheed Martin has developed an Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) system to protect critical targets from short-range threats such as UAVs or homemade artillery missiles such as QASSAM. The laser and fire control system of the ADAM complex is housed in a container on a large trailer that can be towed by a truck. Once positioned and powered up, ADAM can receive information from a network of nearby radars or, with proper timing, operate as a separate system. After receiving the signal, ADAM can track targets at a distance of 5 km and destroy them with its 10 kW laser at a distance of up to 2 km. During a 2012 demonstration, the system captured, tracked and destroyed a target within three seconds, according to Lockheed Martin. In November 2012, Lockheed Martin reported that ADAM "successfully destroyed four missiles in simulated flight at 2 km and intercepted the UAV at 1.5 km, causing it to crash in a controlled manner." During subsequent tests in March and April 2013, the ADAM system destroyed eight attacking small-caliber missiles like the QASSAM. Lockheed Martin continues to improve ADAM and, according to Lockheed Martin Space Systems President Tony Bruno, ADAM "is a practical and affordable directed energy system that can solve the real problem of dealing with nearby threats."
The Marine Corps demonstrated the Active Denial System (ADS) in November 2012 in Virginia. ADS is a state-of-the-art directed energy system in the millimeter wave range that, when in contact with potentially hostile crowds, gives the military something more reasoned than shouting and less harmful than shooting.
Considering that the future belongs to lasers, Boeing has created a mobile laser weapon installation on a truck chassis.
Diehl Defense's HPEMcase Plus is a compact autonomous mobile system with 50% more power and a longer range than the standard version. The system is used to combat eavesdropping devices
Bofors HPM BLACKOUT High Power Microwave Weapon
Some non-lethal ONE systems are difficult to detect. They can provide a unique tactical advantage in today's conflict. Imagine being able to prevent your opponent from using electronic devices at the touch of a button? This can be done, for example, with a High-Power Microwave (HPM) BLACKOUT microwave system from BAE Systems Bofors. The system is a mobile microwave source that can disrupt the operation of unprotected electronic devices. Originally developed only as a device for evaluation and experimentation, the Bofors HPM BLACKOUT has good prospects for becoming a practical system with real application. The system briefing states that the system "has had a devastating effect from a significant distance on a wide variety of commercial equipment … The system consists of an integrated modulator, microwave source and antenna." The system weighs less than 500 kg and is approximately 2 meters long. An operational variant of the Bofors HPM BLACKOUT could disable targeted areas, disabling many commercial and some military electronic systems, rendering the opponent unable to use mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, other devices and weapons systems. In a recent report from BAE Systems, it was said that a group of its researchers “demonstrated the ability of the Bofors HPM BLACKOUT system to have a detrimental effect on selected electronic devices in weapons systems and showed that this system could be an important addition to other weapons, in particular in asymmetric space, where real threats are mixed with innocent civilians. "It is clear that ONE systems like the Bofors HPM BLACKOUT could be used to gain an advantage in the electromagnetic warfare space.
High-Power-Electro-Magnetics (HPEM) high-power electromagnetic weapons
Diehl has developed a series of microwave sources based on Marx multistage oscillators and microwave oscillators (the method for generating microwaves from DC pulses remains unclear). These sources range from wearable (operating at 375 MHz and DS110B operating in the 100-300 MHz range) to fixed installations (operating at 100 MHz [in oil], 60 MHz [in glycol] and 50 MHz [in water], all at a maximum pulse repetition rate of 50 Hz). Portable systems are reported to produce 400 kV and 700 kV, while the output voltage of a stationary installation can be as high as one megavolt. Diehl technicians worked on the design and implementation of the high gain antenna in order to improve the efficiency of the aforementioned systems and use them for military purposes.
In January 2013, the patent office granted Diehl BGT Defense a patent for its microwave generator.
The use of non-lethal HPEM (High-Power-Electro-Magnetics) systems provides new capabilities that will allow military and civilian forces to disable command, information and monitoring systems. HPEM sources can be used to protect people and convoys, for example, to overload and permanently disable radio explosive devices. Unlike traditional silencers, the HPEM convoy protection system is also effective against new types of sensor IEDs. Enemy vehicles with electronic engine control can be unexpectedly stopped by a mobile or stationary HPEM system. Diehl Defense's new HPEM technology protects convoys from IEDs; it allows you to stop leaving cars and prevent unauthorized access to restricted areas. Thus, this technology makes a compelling contribution to the protection of soldiers on international missions.
HPEM systems can also assist special forces and police forces in carrying out their tasks. HPEM systems suppress enemy communications and disrupt intelligence and information systems, for example when releasing hostages. Analysis of the impact of high-energy magnetic impulses on weapons systems leads to the concept of non-lethal actuators capable of neutralizing hidden IEDs from a safe distance without harming people and the environment.
Wearable HPEMs are available as test systems along with basic vehicle-mounted anti-IED and vehicle shutdown systems.
The LaWS (Laser Weapon System) laser weapon system is a technology demonstrator manufactured by Naval Systems Command from commercial solid-state fiber lasers. LaWS can aim at targets in accordance with data received from the MK 15 PHALANX Close-In Weapon short-range complex or from other guidance sources, and destroy small boats and air targets without using bullets
Ship laser LaWs
For the immediate protection of ships, Raytheon has developed a solid-state laser LaWs. This ONE system combines beams from six HELs into a single beam for guidance to slow moving targets; it is connected to a radar station that detects and tracks attacking targets. LaWs are expected to complement traditional short-range kinetic weapons systems; it can aim at targets in accordance with data obtained from the MK 15 PHALANX Close-In Weapon short-range complex or from other guidance sources. Following successful field trials in 2012, LaWs Program Manager Capt. David Keel stated that “the success of this work clearly justifies the military use of directed energy weapons in maritime environments. Further development and integration of a more powerful laser into the LaWs system will increase the range and expand the range of targets that can be successfully captured and destroyed."
The US Navy regards LaWs as a highly functional and accurate system with low risk and high recoil.“Even our low numbers tell us that one shot of directed energy costs less than a dollar,” Rear Admiral Klander said in an April 8, 2013 interview. "Compare that to hundreds of thousands of dollars in missile launches and you begin to see the benefits of these capabilities."
Citing a number of technological breakthroughs in the LaWs development program, the US Navy announced that it will deploy LaWs aboard the AUSTIN-class PONCE transport dock in 2014.
Development of a short-range air defense system based on a high-energy laser installation
A laser weapon, or ONE, emits energy in a given direction without a means of delivery. It transfers energy to a target in order to achieve the desired impact. The anticipated human exposure can be fatal or non-fatal. This impact can be classified as physical, physiological, or psychological. Energy can be in many forms: electromagnetic radiation, including radio frequencies, microwaves, lasers and masers, particles with a mass in beam weapons (from a technical point of view, a kind of microprojectile), and sound in sonic weapons.
Laser weapons are especially suited for operations that require high accuracy and fast scalable impact, as well as for defense against low-cost threats that attack in large numbers.
Demonstration laser system from the German company MBDA
MBDA promotes high power lasers in the development of integrated laser weapon systems. Advantages of the application include: instant impact on the target, low optical detectability, low cost of logistics and maintenance and very low cost of work, scalable impact on the target and the possibility of its increase, high accuracy, high selectivity, no indirect losses and, finally, no need for procurement. storage or transportation of ammunition.
Potential applications for laser weapons systems include protecting critical assets such as forward operating bases, soldiers and vehicles (land, air, sea); increasing or hindering tactical mobility; and protection against terrorism. They are able to carry out the tasks of combating missiles, artillery shells and mortar ammunition, UAVs, IEDs and portable air defense systems.
Today, MBDA's focus on high power lasers is based on the so-called integrated systems approach. MBDA is working on laser weapons to combat missiles, artillery shells and mortar ammunition. Work under contract with the European Defense Agency and the German Defense Procurement Authority is progressing well. To accelerate development, MBDA has invested a significant amount of its own funds in this program.
Demonstration laser installation with a laser power of 40 kW successfully worked on air targets located at a distance of over 2000 meters and an altitude of 1000 meters.
The necessary infrastructure is already in place at the MBDA test site in Schrobenhausen. It consists of three shooting and tracking test ranges, a test lab and a rooftop lab with a laser demonstrator, which together offer excellent opportunities for current and future development.
Next ten years
GNE systems show us what the future might look like. Before the ONE replaces gunpowder and becomes a qualitatively new technology of war, the problems associated with power, heat capacity, size and "the predisposition to use directed energy weapons against fellow citizens" must be resolved.“A useful rule of thumb is that TNT contains about a megajoule of chemical energy, and this amount is often needed to destroy a military target,” says a report on UNE systems published by the US Navy's Surface Weapons Development Center in Dahlgren in June 2013. In order to become a conventional military weapon, any promising laser, phaser or blaster will constantly need to generate destructive energy of about one megajoule. Most DRE systems have not yet reached this level, but some of them may achieve such capabilities in early 2016.
At the moment, based on the information on the ONE systems published in open sources, the following intermediate conclusion can be drawn. The main prospect for using directed energy for military tasks is the ability to control riots (ADS), disable unshielded electronics (Bofors HPM BLACKOUT, HPEM), and protect critical areas and equipment (ADAM, LaWs and HEL MD). These capabilities alone allow us to raise the combat potential so much that it forces us to conduct constant R&D on the ONE systems. Systems with greater lethality and, accordingly, greater energy requirements are installed on large ships, large aircraft and ground targets of point defense with large energy sources. Although the first lethal ground-based mobile laser system HEL MD has already been deployed on a large machine, it is not yet as mobile, functionally flexible, or lethal as existing kinetic systems. In the next decade, after overcoming significant technological difficulties, it is possible that a tank equipped with a new version of a laser system "similar to the HEL MD" will appear. The program manager for the development of solid-state laser technology at the Office of Naval Research wrote in his April 2013 report: “The future is here. Solid-state laser is a big step forward towards a fundamental transformation of modern warfare, which is characterized by the emergence of directed energy systems; exactly the same thing happened in due time with gunpowder, which replaced knives and swords."
