Popular Mechanics: How the Military Will Be Revolutionized By Laser Weaponry
Silent, searing hot, and moving at the speed of light, today's military lasers will change how tomorrow's wars are fought.
There's a technological revolution brewing in warfare. Silent and invisible, it relies on high intensity pulses of light to kill or incapacitate, all at the speed of light. After decades of promises and false starts, lasers are at last finally entering military service. And warfare will never be the same.
The first laser was demonstrated by Theodore Maiman in California's Hughes Research Laboratory in 1960. But it's taken over 50 years to make them practical battlefield weapons, overcoming numerous technological hurdles along the way.
It was only late last year Lockheed Martin announced it was exploring ways to put a laser on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. There is also consideration towards putting them in the AC-130 gunship and B-1 and B-2 bombers. The U.S. Navy has already fielded a laser weapon on the Austin-classUSS Ponce, and anticipates arming the rest of the fleet in the 2020 to 2021 timeframe. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army is looking for ways to use lasers to protect troops in the field from artillery shells, missiles, and drones.
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WNU Editor: What was once science fiction is reality today.
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