The Ray Gun Is No Longer Science FictionNovember 07, 2008

 

ray gunThe U.S. military has already deployed a "directed-energy weapon" in Iraq to detonate unexploded roadside bombs. This weapon, currently named Zeus, fits into the back of a Humvee and can be used from a distance of 330 yards with the pinpoint accuracy of a laser beam.

At present, a single unit has been deployed on the battlefield. Bur Scott McPheeters of the military's Cruise Missile Defense System Project Office for Directed Energy Applications, notes that if it proves successful, a dozen more units will join the arsenal in the next year, according to an article in The Economist (subscription required).

While the current system is ideal for stationary targets, a new generation will be able to destroy incoming rockets using a laser beam. Several defense companies are already working on a next-generation of ray gun weapons:

  • Raytheon's Laser Area Defense System, or LADS, will be capable of tracking small incoming projectiles using infrared sensors and blowing them up once they are within range. This program has received some funding from the Navy's Directed Energy Weapons Program Office.

  • Boeing received a $36 million contract from the Army to create a similar weapon system called the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator.

  • In a partnership, the American Missile Defense Agency, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Grumman are working on the Airborne Laser, a weapon that creates a beam using a chemical reaction rather than an electrical charge, like LADS. A beam created by a chemical reaction is said to be far more powerful, capable of neutralizing an incoming missile from hundreds of miles away. The downside: The system is likely to be more sensitive to atmospheric conditions and vibrations.

  • Boeing is also working with the Air Force to create an airplane-mounted Advanced Tactical Laser, ATL, which can be aimed at targets on the ground.

The Economist notes that companies are less willing to discuss the use of laser technology for offensive use. The magazine reported that Boeing and the Missile Defense Command called it a "politically sensitive" matter.

Next summer, there will be a full-scale exercise in which the Air Force will use a laser beam to try to shoot down a boost-phase missile off the coast of California. Whether that exercise is a complete success or not, the ray gun is becoming a reality.