Why lasers could be kryptonite for drones
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Earlier this year the U.S. Army shot down a number of hostile drones in the Middle East using a weapon long dismissed as more science fiction than reality—the laser.
After decades of costly, problematic development, a growing number of countries from the U.K. to South Korea say they have harnessed the technology for military use. The role of lasers is likely to be narrow for the foreseeable future because of their large energy needs, limited range and problems with bad weather.
But militaries say the new weapons could prove an effective way to shoot down drones, a key task as they look for cheaper ways to counter a proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, in combat. Laser weapons shoot highly concentrated beams of light that deliver intense heat to their target. The beams, which travel at the speed of light, cut through metal to destroy engines, fuel tanks, electronics and other key parts of a target or can be used to “dazzle," or blind, their sensors and cameras.
“The old adage that lasers were five years from being amazing and always will be, that is changing," said Doug Bush, the U.S. Army’s assistant secretary for acquisitions, logistics and technology. “Lasers for counter drone (warfare) may have met their moment," he said.
The U.S. has successfully deployed lasers at various places in the Middle East to shoot down UAVs, according to Bush. The U.S.
Army declined to detail the operations. Military lasers have gained ground in recent years because of advances in the technology, and a growing need to find more cost-effective weapons amid the increasing threat from drones. The U.S.
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