Laser weapons: problems and prospects. Laser weapons

On July 18, 2017, the world media hit the public with headlines: “The United States tested laser weapons in the Persian Gulf.” The American television channel CNN released video footage of a laser weapon test carried out. Two targets were successfully hit by laser cannon shots, showing the world what US laser weapons are capable of. The gun designated XN-1 LaWS on the US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Ponce is currently the only laser gun in service with the US Navy, but the Pentagon is already aiming to develop and build new guns and arm warships and aircraft with them. What laser weapons are in service with the US Army? What are its technical data? What are the plans of the American military-industrial complex on this important issue? You will learn about this from this article.

Wonder weapon

The great minds of mankind at the beginning of the 20th century predicted the emergence beam weapons. The idea of ​​a weapon capable of penetrating any armor and guaranteed to hit a target is reflected in the works of science fiction writers. These are the Martian tripods of Oscar Wilde in “War of the Worlds”, and the “high-power heat ray” of A. N. Tolstoy in “The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin”, and their numerous followers in literature and cinema. The most famous work in which the idea of ​​laser weapons was realized can rightfully be called “Star Wars” by George Lucas.

In the 1950s of the last century, laser weapons came to the attention of the military. At the same time, development of working versions of lasers was carried out in the USA and USSR. The United States focused primarily on missile defense in the development of laser weapons.

Ronald Reagan's Star Wars

The first US effort in the field of laser weapons was the Strategic Defense Initiative program, better known as the Star Wars project. It was planned to launch satellites equipped with lasers into orbit, designed to destroy Soviet ballistic missiles in highest point their trajectories. A large-scale program was launched to develop and produce early warning systems for taking off missiles, and according to some unconfirmed reports, the first satellites with laser weapons on board were launched into space in an atmosphere of extreme secrecy.

The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) project, in fact, became the forerunner of the American missile defense system, around which controversy and verbal battles are currently raging. But SDI was not destined to fully become a reality. The project lost its relevance and was closed in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Moreover, existing developments were used in other similar projects, including the above-mentioned missile defense system, and some individual developments were adapted for civilian needs, such as, for example, satellite system GPS.

Boeing YAL-1. about the laser bomber

The first attempt to revive the concept of using beam weapons in combat conditions was the project of an aircraft that would be capable of shooting down nuclear missiles still on takeoff. In 2002, an experimental Boeing YAL-1 aircraft with a chemical laser was built, which successfully passed several tests, but the program was closed in 2011 due to budget cuts. The problem with the project, which negated all its advantages, was that the YAL-1 could only fire at a distance of 200 kilometers, which in conditions of full-scale hostilities would lead to the fact that the aircraft would simply be shot down by enemy air defense forces.

The rebirth of US laser weapons

The new American defensive doctrine, which envisaged the creation of a national missile defense system, again aroused the military's interest in beam weapons.

In 2004, the US Army tested laser weapons in combat conditions. The ZEUS combat laser mounted on an HMMWV in Afghanistan successfully destroyed unexploded ordnance and mines. Also, according to unconfirmed reports, the United States tested laser weapons in the Persian Gulf in 2003, during Operation Shock and Awe (the military invasion of Iraq).

In 2008, the American company Northrop Grumman Corporation, together with the Israeli Defense Ministry, developed the Skyguard missile defense system laser. Northrop Grumman is also developing beam weapons for the US Navy. Active testing was carried out in 2011, but nothing is known about operating products yet. It is assumed that new laser will be 5 times more powerful than what the United States tested in the Persian Gulf in July 2017.

Later, Boeing began developing a program to develop the HEL MD laser, which was successfully completed combat tests in 2013 and 2014 In 2015, Boeing introduced a laser with a power of up to 2 kW, which successfully shot down a drone during exercises.

Beam weapons are also being developed by Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. According to the statement, tests of laser weapons will take place annually.

XN-1 LaWS System

The XN-1 LaWS laser weapon was developed by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in 2014 and was immediately installed on board the obsolete US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Ponce, selected to test the new weapon system. The power of the gun is 30 kW, the approximate cost is 30 million US dollars, the speed of the “projectile” is more than 1 billion km/h with the cost of one shot being 1 dollar. The installation is controlled by 3 people.

Advantages

The advantages of US laser weapons directly stem from the specifics of their use. They are listed below:

1. It does not require ammunition as it runs on electricity.
2. Laser is much more accurate firearms, since the projectile is practically not affected by external factors.
3. Precision also results in another important advantage: collateral damage is completely eliminated. The beam hits the target without causing damage to surrounding objects, which makes it possible to use it in densely populated areas where the use of conventional artillery and bombing is fraught with large casualties among civilians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
4. The laser is silent and its shot cannot be tracked, which allows it to be used in special operations where stealth and silence are the main factors for success.

Flaws

The obvious advantages of laser weapons also result in their disadvantages, namely:

1. Excessive power consumption. Large systems will require large generators, which will significantly limit the mobility of the artillery systems on which they will be installed.
2. High accuracy only when firing directly, which sharply reduces the effectiveness of use on land.
3. The laser beam can be reflected using inexpensive materials, the production of which is established in many countries. Thus, a representative of the Chinese Minister of War stated in 2014 that they are completely protected from American lasers thanks to a special protective layer.

Prospects for US laser weapons

So what's next? Will we see scenes familiar to every science fiction lover, where giant lasers are commonplace? Based on recent trends, the power of new US laser weapons will increase, followed by an increase in destructive potential.

Developers of beam weapons are already faced with the age-old “shield-sword” problem - they will need to overcome the resistance of new protective coatings, which will be improved as the power of laser weapons increases. With each new weapon system, the range of US laser weapons increases, which opens up new way its use is the fight against space debris. There is also a tendency to reduce the size of devices without losing power, which in the future will lead to the fact that we will get small enough weapons that can be installed on fighter aircraft and even one day become the personal weapon of soldiers.

That is why every new test of US laser weapons arouses such keen interest among all world military experts. But don’t think that old weapons systems will remain a thing of the past. Don't forget that laser weapons are only effective in direct line of sight to the target, so conventional artillery and precision missiles will still be the main ones in theaters of war.

The term “laser,” which is familiar to us, is an abbreviation for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, which translated means “amplification of light through stimulated emission.”

Lasers were first discussed seriously in the second half of the 20th century. The first working laser device was introduced by American physicist Theodore Maiman in 1960, and today lasers are used in a wide variety of fields. Quite a long time ago they found application in military equipment, although until recently it was mainly about non-lethal weapons capable of temporarily blinding the enemy or disabling his optics. Full-fledged combat laser systems capable of destroying equipment are still at the development stage, and it is difficult to say exactly when they will become operational.

The main problems are associated with the high cost and high energy consumption of laser systems, as well as their ability to cause real damage to highly protected equipment. However, every year the leading countries of the world are increasingly developing combat lasers, gradually increasing the power of their prototypes. The development of laser weapons would most correctly be called an investment in the future, when new technologies will make it possible to seriously talk about the feasibility of such systems.

winged laser

One of the most sensational projects of laser combat systems was the experimental Boeing YAL-1. A modified Boeing 747-400F airliner served as a platform for placing the combat laser.

The Americans have always been looking for ways to protect their territory from enemy missiles, and the YAL-1 project was created precisely for this purpose. It is based on a 1 MW chemical oxygen laser. The main advantage of YAL-1 over other missile defense systems is that the laser complex is theoretically capable of destroying missiles at initial stage flight. The American military has repeatedly announced successful tests of a laser system. However, the real effectiveness of such a complex seems rather doubtful, and the program, which cost $5 billion, was discontinued in 2011. However, the developments obtained in it have found application in other projects of combat lasers.

Shield of Moses and Blade of Uncle Sam

Israel and the United States are world leaders in the development of combat laser systems. In the case of Israel, the creation of such systems is due to the need to counter frequent rocket attacks on the country’s territory. In fact, if a laser will not be able to confidently hit targets such as a ballistic missile for a long time, then it will not be possible to fight missiles short range He's quite capable of it now.

Palestinian Qassam rockets are a constant source of headaches for the Israelis, and the US-Israeli Nautilus laser missile defense system was supposed to be an additional security guarantee. The main role in the development of the laser itself was played by specialists from the American company Northrop Grumman. And although the Israelis invested more than $400 million in Nautilus, they withdrew from the project in 2001. Officially, the results of the missile defense tests were positive, but the Israeli military leadership was skeptical about them, and as a result, the Americans remained the only participants in the project. Development of the complex continued, but it never reached mass production. But the experience gained during the Nautilus testing process was used to develop the Skyguard laser complex.

The Skyguard and Nautilus missile defense systems are built around a high-energy tactical laser - THEL (Tactical High Energy Laser). According to the developers, THEL is capable of effectively hitting missiles, cruise missiles, short-range ballistic missiles and drones. At the same time, THEL can become not only an effective, but also a very economical missile defense system: one shot will cost only about 3 thousand dollars, much cheaper than launching a modern anti-missile missile. On the other hand, it will be possible to talk about the real efficiency of such systems only after they are put into service.

THEL is a chemical laser with a power of about 1 MW. After the target is detected by the radar, the computer orients the laser system and fires a shot. In a split second, the laser beam causes enemy missiles and shells to detonate. Critics of the project predict that such a result can only be achieved in ideal weather conditions. Perhaps this is why the Israelis, who had previously abandoned the Nautilus project, were not interested in the Skyguard complex. But the US military calls the laser system a revolution in the field of weapons. According to the developers, mass production of the complex may begin very soon.

Laser in the sea

The US Navy is showing great interest in laser missile defense systems. According to the plan, laser systems will be able to complement the usual means of protecting warships, taking on the role of modern high-speed anti-aircraft guns, such as the Mark 15. The development of such systems is fraught with a number of difficulties. Small drops of water in wet sea ​​air noticeably weaken the energy of the laser beam, but the developers promise to solve this problem by increasing the laser power.

One of the latest developments in this area is MLD (Maritime Laser Demonstrator). The MLD laser system is just a demonstrator, but in the future its concept may form the basis of full-fledged combat systems. The complex was developed by Northrop Grumman. Initially, the installation’s power was small and amounted to 15 kW, however, during testing, it also managed to destroy a surface target - a rubber boat. Of course, in the future, Northrop Grumman specialists intend to increase the laser power.

At the Farnborough 2010 air show, the American company Raytheon presented to the public its own concept of a combat laser, LaWS (Laser Weapon System). This laser system is combined into a single complex with the Mark 15 naval anti-aircraft gun and in tests managed to hit a drone at a distance of about 3 km. The power of the LaWS laser machine is 50 kW, which is enough to burn through a 40 mm steel plate.

In 2011, Boeing and BAE Systems began developing the TLS (Tactical Laser System) complex, which also combines a laser system with a rapid-fire 25-mm artillery gun. It is believed that this system will be able to effectively hit cruise missiles, airplanes, helicopters and small surface targets at a range of up to 3 km. The rate of fire of the Tactical Laser System should be about 180 pulses per minute.

Mobile laser complex

Another Boeing development - HEL-MD (High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator) - should be installed on a mobile platform - an eight-wheeled truck. During tests that took place in 2013, the HEL-MD complex successfully hit training targets. Potential targets for such a laser system could be not only drones, but also artillery shells. Soon the power of HEL-MD will be increased to 50 kW, and in the foreseeable future it will be 100 kW.

Another example of a mobile laser was recently presented by the German company Rheinmetall. The HEL (High-Energy Laser) laser complex was installed on a Boxer armored personnel carrier. The complex is capable of detecting, tracking and destroying targets - both in the air and on the ground. Enough power to destroy drones and short-range missiles.

Prospects

A well-known expert in the field of advanced weapons, Andrei Shalygin, says: “Laser weapons are literally line-of-sight weapons. The target must be detected in a straight line, the laser aimed at it and steadily tracked in order to transfer enough energy to cause damage. Accordingly, over-the-horizon destruction is impossible, and sustained, guaranteed defeat at long distances is also impossible. For longer distances the installation should be raised as high as possible. Hitting maneuvering targets is difficult, hitting shielded targets is difficult... In numbers, all this looks too banal to even talk about it seriously, compared to even primitive operating air defense systems.

In addition, there are two factors that further complicate the situation. The power supply of such a weapon in today's conditions should be enormous. This makes the entire system either extremely cumbersome, or extremely expensive, or has a lot of other disadvantages, such as a short total time in combat readiness, a long time to bring into combat readiness, the huge cost of a shot, and so on. The second significant factor limiting the effect of laser weapons is the optical inhomogeneity of the medium. In a primitive understanding, any ordinary bad weather with precipitation makes the use of such weapons below the cloud level completely useless, and protection against them in the lower layers of the atmosphere seems very simple.

Therefore, there is no need to say yet that samples of any know-how in laser weapons in the foreseeable future will be able to become something more than not the most best weapon close combat for ship groups in good weather and for air duels taking place above the cloud level. As a rule, exotic weapons systems are one of the most effective ways for lobbyists to make money in a “relatively honest” way. Therefore, in order to solve tactical problems with combat units within the framework of the art of war, you can easily find a dozen or two much more effective, cheaper and simple solutions assigned tasks.

The airborne systems being developed by the Americans can find very limited use for local protection against air attacks above the cloud level. However, the cost of such solutions significantly exceeds existing systems without any prospect of reducing it, and the combat capabilities are significantly lower.

With the discovery of materials for the construction of superconducting systems operating at temperatures close to the environment, as well as in the case of the creation of compact mobile high-energy power sources, laser systems will be produced in Russia. They can be useful for short-range air defense purposes in the fleet and used on surface ships, for starters - as part of systems based on platforms such as the Palma ZK or AK-130-176.

In the ground forces, such systems in fully combat-ready form have been known to the whole world since the time when Chubais tried to openly sell them abroad. They were even exhibited for this purpose at MAKS-2003. For example, MLTK-50 is a conversion development in the interests of Gazprom, which was carried out by the Trinity Institute of Innovation and Thermonuclear Research (TRINITI) and NIIEFA named after Efremov. Its appearance on the market, in fact, led to the fact that the whole world suddenly moved forward in the design of similar systems. At the same time, at present, the energy systems allow us to have not a dual, but an ordinary single automobile module.

It seems that laser systems are not a weapon of tomorrow or even the day after tomorrow. Many critics believe that the development of laser systems is a complete waste of money and time, and large defense corporations are simply mastering new means with the help of such projects. However, this point of view is only partly true. Perhaps the combat laser will not soon become a full-fledged weapon, but it would be premature to give up on it completely.

2610

The US Navy tested an “active laser weapon” LaWS (Laser Weapons System) in the Persian Gulf and hit an unmanned aerial vehicle with an invisible pulse.

At the same time, the official representative of the Navy, Captain First Rank Christopher Well, noted the versatility of the installation, high accuracy and low cost of the “shot.”

The Americans announced plans to equip warships with the latest laser weapons back in the spring of 2013. And Rear Admiral Matthew Klander then said:

“The latest technologies make it possible to create laser beams that can lock onto a target and not lose it, regardless of the movement of the ship in conditions of strong wind and waves. The laser will cut the target like a blowtorch. In addition, the new weapon will be able to “blind” the cameras of reconnaissance aircraft.”

True, the admiral allowed a decrease in the effectiveness of laser weapons against fast-moving targets - supersonic aircraft and missiles.

Indeed, a combat laser reaches its maximum destruction range only in airless space, and the pathos of American statements on this topic always exceeds the persuasiveness of the tests.

Readers who had mastered the school physics course well were skeptical about the new achievement of the American defense industry.

Experts were unanimous: such tests and systems do not yet threaten warships and aircraft; laser guns are too dependent on the power of the generator and the distance to the target.

The “electricity from a small standard generator” mentioned by Christopher Well raises all the more doubts because the laser installation was placed on a huge transport ship with a length of 173 meters and a displacement of over 16 thousand tons.

Laser cannon installed aboard the USS Ponce

Light illusions and collisions

As a rule, demonstrations of US “super-weapons”, upon closer examination, turn out to be advertising, the main purpose of which is to justify the enormous funds invested in development or to impress third world countries. In today's Persian Gulf, the action is, of course, addressed to Iran. However, what awaits us in the future?

The laser weapon system (LaWS) on the USS Ponce transport dock was first tested in the Persian Gulf in 2014, and progress since then has not been obvious.

Today there are no answers to a number of fundamental questions. What is the power of the laser machine? At what distance is the target hit? What material is the drone made of? Did it have a reflective coating and how fast did it fly? Is marketing hoax ruled out?

The advantages of laser weapons are speed and accuracy, the ability to “blind” a target, the absence of unmasking effects in the form of fire and smoke, and the relative cheapness of the shot (the amount of ammunition is determined only by the power of the energy source). The beam has no mass and does not require ballistic corrections. Why have convenient combat lasers not yet replaced traditional weapons systems?

The key disadvantage is the high level of energy consumption. And if a compact and inexhaustible source of energy ever appears, refraction will not disappear - the laser beam in the atmosphere expands and loses focus (its temperature decreases). Therefore the distance combat use limited to three to five kilometers (wavelength and other tricks do not play a special role).

And even at this distance, bad weather (rain, fog) or reflective coating on the target (the mirror reflects the laser beam regardless of the power level) turns the superweapon into a useless toy.

Laser Weapons System (LaWS) control room aboard USS Ponce

For example, the American air-launched combat laser, the $5.3 billion “anti-missile dream,” looks like impressive nonsense.

The project was closed despite the current YAL-1A prototype being deployed on a Boeing 747-400°F aircraft. The system was developed to destroy enemy ballistic missiles.

The laser seemed to be successfully tested, but the maximum “firing” range turned out to be unacceptable for real combat conditions.

Kilowatt race

Despite the thorny path of the laser beam in the earth's atmosphere, it can be assumed that in the coming years tactical laser weapons will be adopted in several countries around the world.

Thus, the Americans intend to install laser cannons on the F-35 fighter, on the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and Zumwalt class destroyers.

Combat laser systems are being persistently developed by British, German, Indian, Chinese, Japanese and, of course, Russian specialists.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov in 2016 announced the adoption of “separate types of laser weapons” that could be placed on aircraft, wheeled and tracked combat vehicles, as well as on naval ships.

Testing of the Russian air-launched laser system (carried by the Il-76 transport aircraft) continues. Perhaps the newest MiG-35 fighter will receive laser weapons.

The Nautilus laser missile defense system was jointly developed by American and Israeli specialists in the late 90s. However, Israel withdrew from this program. The Americans used their experience to create the Skyguard laser missile defense system (tests began in 2008).

Later, in the United States, Boeing and BAE Systems developed a new TLS defensive system, which, according to the developers, should hit cruise missiles, helicopters, airplanes and surface targets at distances of up to five kilometers.

In 2012, Lockheed Martin introduced a compact ADAM laser air defense system for destroying UAVs, shells, missiles and mines at distances of up to five kilometers.

ADAM laser air defense system from Lockheed Martin

By the way, it is not the new Russian supersonic anti-ship missile P-700 Granit that flies through this laser fire zone in about six seconds.

In 2013, the United States tested a 10-kilowatt laser system and apparently shot down several mines and a drone. IN this year planned to test a 50-kilowatt installation. Perhaps by 2020 a 100-kilowatt model will appear. However, to defeat ballistic and cruise missiles the power required is hundreds of times greater.

At the arms exhibition in Singapore in 2014, Israel presented the Iron Beam laser combat system, designed to destroy shells, missiles and mines at a distance of up to two kilometers. It can be noted that in all examples the range of laser systems does not justify the investment. And in the medium term, the creation of a long-range atmospheric laser looks unlikely.

Humanity has been working with combat lasers since the early 1960s. AND Soviet Union in this race was not inferior to the United States. Tests of Soviet combat lasers were carried out at the Sary-Shagan training ground in Kazakhstan. According to information from open sources, in 1982 the installation hit a radio-controlled target. Self-propelled complexes “Compression” and “Sangvin” were developed to disable the optical-electronic systems of enemy armored vehicles and helicopters, respectively. An attempt was made to launch the Skif combat laser station into low-Earth orbit to destroy American missile defense system guidance satellites.

Be that as it may, laser developments have found application in the most different areas science and technology (CD players, precision distance determination devices, holography, surgery, metalworking). And, perhaps, the current “atmospheric” efforts of defense specialists will have an unpredictable beneficial result for civilians.

Alexander Khrolenko, columnist for MIA Rossiya Segodnya

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A laser is an optical quantum generator, an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission Radiation. Engineering and military thought, since the time when A. Tolstoy wrote the science fiction novel “Engineer Garin’s Hyperboloid,” has been actively looking for possible ways to implement the idea of ​​​​creating a laser that could cut armored vehicles, airplanes, combat missiles etc.

In the process of research, laser weapons were divided into “burning”, “blinding”, “electro-magnetic-pulse”, “overheating” and “projection” (pictures are projected onto clouds that can demoralize an unprepared or superstitious enemy).

At one time, the United States planned to place interceptor satellites in low-Earth orbit capable of destroying Soviet ballistic missiles on their initial flight path. intercontinental missiles. This program was called the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). It was SDI that gave impetus to the active development of laser weapons in the USSR.

In the Soviet Union, several experimental models of laser space guns were developed and built to destroy American interceptor satellites. At that time, they could only operate with powerful ground-based power sources; installing them on a military satellite or space platform was out of the question.

But despite this, experiments and tests continued. It was decided to carry out the first testing of the laser gun in sea conditions. The gun was installed on the auxiliary fleet tanker Dixon. In order to obtain the required energy (at least 50 megawatts), the tanker's diesel engines were reinforced with three jet engines from Tu-154. According to some reports, several successful tests were carried out to hit targets on the shore. Then perestroika and the collapse of the USSR happened, all work stopped due to lack of funding. And the “laser ship” “Dixon” went to Ukraine during the division of the fleet. His further fate is unknown.

At the same time, work was underway to create the Skif spacecraft, which could carry a laser gun and provide it with energy. In 1987, the launch of this device, which was called “Skif-D,” was supposed to take place. It was created in record time at NPO Salyut. A prototype of a space fighter with a laser cannon was built and ready for launch; at the start there was an Energia rocket with an 80-ton Skif-D device docked on the side. But it so happened that it was at this time that the famous guardian of US interests, Gorbachev, arrived at Baikonur. Having gathered the Soviet space elite in the conference hall of Baikonur three days before the launch of Skif, he stated: “We are categorically against transferring the arms race into space and will set an example in this.” Thanks to this speech, “Skif-D” was launched into orbit only to be immediately thrown into the dense layers of the atmosphere for burning.

But in fact, the successful launch of Skif would mean a complete victory for the USSR in the struggle for near space. For example, each Polet-type fighter could destroy only one enemy aircraft, while it itself died. “Skif” could fly in orbit for quite a long time, while hitting enemy vehicles with its cannon. Another indisputable advantage of the Skif was that its gun did not require a special range; 20-30 km of action would be enough to destroy the intended targets of vulnerable orbital satellites. But the Americans would have to puzzle over space stations firing thousands of kilometers away at small armored warheads rushing at breakneck speed. “Scythians” shot down satellites while catching up, when the speed of the pursued target in relation to the hunter can be said to be simply snail-like.

Maneuvering satellite "Polet-1"

It turns out that the Skif fleet would smash into pieces the American low-orbit constellation of military satellites with a 100% guarantee. But all this did not happen, although the remaining scientific and technical base is an excellent basis for modern developers.

The next development of the Salyut Design Bureau was to be the Skif-Stiletto apparatus. The prefix “Stiletto” appeared in the name because they were going to install on it the onboard special complex (BSK) 1K11 “Stiletto” developed at NPO Astrophysics. It was a modification of the “ten-barreled” ground-based infrared laser installation of the same name, operating at a wavelength of 1.06 nm. The ground-based “Stiletto” was intended to disable sights and sensors of optical devices. In the vacuum of space, the radius of action of the rays could be significantly increased. The “Space Stiletto” could, in principle, be successfully used as an anti-satellite weapon. As is known, failure of the optical sensors of a spacecraft is tantamount to its death. What happened to this project is unknown.

Not so long ago, in a conversation with journalists, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Nikolai Makarov, said that in Russia, “as well as throughout the world, work is underway on a combat laser.” Adding: “It is too early to talk about its characteristics.” Maybe he was talking about the development of this particular project.

According to Wikipedia, the fate of the ground-based Stiletto is also very sad. According to some reports, neither of the two copies adopted for service is currently operational, although formally the Stiletto is still in service with the Russian Army.

Laser complex "Stilet" at state tests

Photos of one of the Stilet complexes, 2010, Kharkov Tank Repair Plant No. 171

Some experts believe that during the parade on May 9, 2005, Russia demonstrated laser guns, and not “prototypes,” but production vehicles. Six combat vehicles with their “combat units” and “terminal devices” removed stood on both sides of Red Square. According to experts, these were the same “laser guns”, which were immediately dubbed “Putin’s hyperboloid” by wits.

Apart from this ambitious demonstration and publications about the Stiletto, there is no more detailed information about Russian laser weapons in the open press.

The electronic directory of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation “Weapons of Russia” reports: “Experts in this field, despite contradictory and unproven data due to the closed nature of this topic, assess the prospects for the creation of military laser weapons in Russia as realistic. This is due, first of all, to the rapid development modern technologies, the expansion of the use of laser weapons for other purposes, the desire to create such weapons and the advantages that they have in comparison with traditional weapons. According to some estimates, the real appearance of military laser weapons is possible in the period 2015-2020.”

A reasonable question arises: what is the situation on this issue with our potential overseas enemy, the United States?
For example, Colonel General Leonid Ivashov, president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, gives the following answer to this question:

The danger for us is the powerful chemical lasers placed on Boeing 747 aircraft and space platforms. By the way, these are lasers Soviet developments, transferred in the early 90s by order of B. Yeltsin to the Americans!

Indeed, not so long ago an official statement from the Pentagon appeared in the American press that tests of a combat laser system for combating ballistic missiles, intended for placement on aircraft carriers, were successful. It also became known that the US Missile Defense Agency received funding from Congress for the 2011 test program in the amount of one billion dollars.

According to the plans of the American military, aircraft equipped with laser systems will operate mainly against medium-range missiles, although it is more likely that only against operational-tactical missiles. The destructive effect of this laser, even under ideal conditions, is limited to 320-350 km. It turns out that in order to shoot down a ballistic missile at the acceleration stage, an aircraft with a laser must be within a radius of 100-200 km. from location rocket launchers. But the positioning areas of intercontinental ballistic missiles are located, as a rule, in the interior of the country, and if an aircraft accidentally ends up there, there is no doubt that it will be destroyed. Therefore, the adoption by the United States of an air-launched laser will only allow it to prevent threats from countries that have mastered missile technology, but do not have a full-fledged air defense.

Of course, over time, the Pentagon may launch lasers into space. And Russia must be ready to retaliate.

In April of this year, a combat laser (High Energy Laser Mobile Test Truck, HELMTT) with a power of 10 kilowatts was tested in the United States at the Fort Sill base. 8 jeeps took part in the exercises, including a command center created on one of them, that is, the control system and use of laser weapons in field conditions. They also tested a 2-kilowatt laser mounted on a Stryker armored vehicle. Reports of these new exercises were leaked to the wider press only in May. During the exercise, drones, artillery shells and mortar shells were destroyed.

What happened?

This is, of course, not the first test. In 2013, a ground-based laser was tested to destroy air targets. A combat laser (High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator, HEL MD) with a power of 10 kilowatts destroyed hundreds of mortar shells and several drones.

In 2014, HEL MD was tested from an Oshkosh vehicle in bad weather and the laser was able to hit about 150 targets. The military claims that drones have been hit with lasers even in the rain, although the specific details of these tests are unknown. In the same year, a laser weapon with a power of 33 kilowatts was tested aboard the USS Ponce.

In 2015, Boeing's 2-kilowatt installation shot down a free-flying UAV in 10-15 seconds, and a stationary UAV in 2 seconds. According to some reports, at a distance of one and a half kilometers, a UAV flying at speeds of up to 130 km/h is shot down by a laser.

What's next?

In 2017, the US Army plans to test the HEL MD ground-based laser system with a power of 50 kilowatts.

By 2020, the power of this ground-based installation is planned to be increased to 100 kilowatts.

By 2020, laser systems will also be on US Air Force aircraft.

By 2021, the United States wants to bring air-launched laser weapons to intercept ballistic missiles into practical use. A missile defense system with a capacity of 1 megawatt is in development. Boeing, by the way, promised that soon its lasers will hit targets in the air at a distance of 35 kilometers.

And in 2023-2025 in the United States, the first defensive and offensive combat laser systems should become operational on land, sea and in the air.

The Americans have a lot of plans. The Air Force wants to have a 150-kilowatt laser on AC-130s by 2020 to burn holes the size of beer cans for targets, and then begin installing lasers on B-1 and B-2 aircraft as well. Lockheed Martin announced in 2015 that laser cannons could be installed on the F-35.

There is an idea to install short-range lasers on cover helicopters, which ensure the safety of landing soldiers.

The Navy is considering installing large laser cannons on the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier and Zumwalt ships.

By 2017, the Marines want to have mobile laser systems with a power of 30 kilowatts on their jeeps or trucks to shoot down enemy drones on the battlefield, and the developers promise them 60 kilowatts.

What about project financing?

The peak of investment in the development of laser weapons in the United States occurred in 1989, when about $2.4 billion was poured into the program. Since then, annual costs for the topic have been significantly lower. In 2007, $961 million was spent on military lasers, but in 2014 it was only $344 million.

The cost of the laser installation aboard the USS Ponce was $40 million, and that does not include six years of development costs. But it is noted that the price of laser weapons will soon drop significantly as they become more widespread and mass produced. And even at current prices for laser systems, it is still many times cheaper than spending expensive missiles to destroy targets.

Today the Pentagon is requesting $90.3 million for 2017 fiscal year only to create air-launched laser weapons to intercept ballistic missiles. Overall, the US military estimates that the country needs to spend $1.3 billion a year to develop combat lasers.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of laser weapons: speed of use, almost unlimited number of “shots”, constant targeting, the price of one “shot” is less than $10, noiselessness, invisibility, no need to calculate the wind correction as for other ammunition, compensate for recoil, etc. .

Nevertheless, the disadvantages of such weapons are also obvious: energy consumption, loss of energy with increasing distance to the target, loss of energy in bad weather conditions, the need for a cooling system for the laser system, ease of protection from lasers using reflective surfaces.

The latter, by the way, was not confirmed in real tests. Even the smallest dust on the reflective surface of such coatings was burned by the laser and, on the contrary, led to even more rapid destruction of the protection and destruction of the entire target.

The most realistic application for military lasers today is defensive operations at short ranges. In 2014, national security experts were surveyed in the United States. About 50% of experts did not expect the introduction of laser weapons into the US military in the next two decades.

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Interestingly, there is an international Additional Protocol dated October 13, 1995 - “Protocol IV on Blinding Laser Weapons to the 1980 UN Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Cause Excessive Injury or to Have an Indiscriminate Effect.”

The protocol, which has already been signed by 107 countries, prohibits the use of laser weapons specifically designed for use in combat, solely or in part, to cause permanent blindness to the visual organs of a person not using optical instruments.

That is, during a war, lasers formally cannot even blind the enemy’s manpower, not to mention his physical destruction. Discussions are already unfolding about the degree of humaneness of laser weapons, similar to debates about the morality of using attack drones.

The developers of HEL MD say that since the laser “shot” occurs silently, sound will have to be built into the system so that the operators themselves and those nearby can understand that the weapon is activated. For these purposes, sound effects from films will be selected " star Wars" and "Star Trek".

Ilya Plekhanov