Last month’s tests saw Athena up against five Outlaw unmanned drones, each with a 10.8-foot wingspan. Using its advanced beam control technology and fiber laser, it managed to take down all five in an invisible attack from below
Daily Mail: US Army reveals video of 'Athena' laser weapon shooting down FIVE drones in most impressive test yet
* 'Athena' is a ground-based laser system that can be mounted atop vehicles
* In tests at White Sands Missile Range, it shot down 5 unmanned Outlaw drones
* The system causes loss of control and structural failure in an invisible attack
Lockheed Martin has released new footage from tests with its laser weapon system, revealing how ‘Athena’ can deliver an invisible killing blow to take down an enemy drone.
In the tests conducted last month at New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range, the prototype weapon successfully shot down five unmanned Outlaw aircraft.
The hair-raising footage shows the moment flames burst from the tails of the flying drones one by one before they plummet toward the ground, as the silent attack causes both loss of control and structural failure.
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WNU Editor: It appears that this laser system is designed to shoot down multiple drones, and if the video is any indication, it is also highly successful.
2 comments:
The 6th target not shown in the video was the outline of a short man with his hand waving in the air. Apparently it went right through his right eye and a walnut representing his brain.
I think this will redefine "precision" weapon.
I am not impressed. They've done what they always do, showing a massively heavy, multimillion dollar laser system shooting down a drone that's the same size - and almost the same cost - as a hobbyist's high-end radio controlled toy. As well as the laser beam emitter, there's usually an ISO container sized power bank providing the power. That weapon system weighs as much as some armoured vehicles, but has less range than almost any other GBADS out there. (laser boondoggles excepted.)
The Outlaw is a small drone boasting a teeny tiny 17hp engine. The USAF doesn't even list the outlaw in its drone/UAV Tier system, because a drone that small is considered too small to be militarily useful for anything ther than VSHORAD GBADS training.
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