Through its work on behalf of the German government and well-targeted application of its own resources, Rheinmetall has acquired tremendous expertise in this field in recent years. Rheinmetall expects a high-energy laser weapon system with an output of 100 kW to be available within the next three to five years.
This is impressive. Rheinmetall is producing some really awesome military grade laser systems that everyone should be taking notice of. Especially these APC mounted systems. But at what point does it transition from a mild APC with laser to a tank armed with a high-energy laser?
If they can increase the strength of these lasers to 100kW, and especially if Moore’s Law applies to this industry, then why not have a tank that fires a high powered laser? Something that is quiet and will slice an enemy’s tanks/jets in half, or zap a hole in the engine. Or a tank that can shoot miles away on a single human target, and basically vaporize that individual? I could see a lot of uses for a laser.
Which brings up my next point. Why are we not using these laser weapons against humans? Is it more humane to drop a bomb on a target and potentially kill innocent people surrounding that target, or is a laser not the better tool for selectively taking out targets in population centers? This kind of weapon would put the ‘surgical’ into a surgical strike, and in a pretty dramatic star wars kind of way. lol Imagine the look on the faces of a crowd that just watched a bad guy get quietly vaporized by some laser, shot from miles away…
The other cool thing with this system is that their goal is to shoot down UAV’s and mortars/rockets. According to this article and their recent demonstration, they did just that. That is cool and hopefully they will post a video of it. So that asks another question– will we see lasers replacing guns for CRAM duty? Possibly, and the future is now. –Matt
Rheinmetall: successful target engagement with high-energy laser weapons
22/11/2011
Full-scale demonstrator confirms Rheinmetall’s technological lead
Having recently used a high-energy laser weapon to down an unmanned aircraft at a proving ground in Switzerland, Rheinmetall has demonstrated the operational potential of combining a powerful laser weapon with an advanced air defence system. This event provides compelling proof of the Group’s 360° competence in relevant technologies ranging from military lasers and target recognition and identification to target tracking and fire control units – and its unrivalled ability to weld them into a single, forward-looking, fully functional full scale demonstrator. At a live fire laser demo at the Group’s Ochsenboden proving ground, international guests were able to view two laser weapon demonstrators in action, each featuring different performance parameters. For example, a 10-kW laser was integrated into an air defence system consisting of an Oerlikon Skyguard 3 fire control unit and a Skyshield gun turret. Modular and scalable, the laser weapon itself consisted of two 5-kW laser weapon modules. In addition, a 1-kW laser weapon module was displayed, specially mounted on a TM 170-type vehicle for the purpose.
Both laser weapon demonstrators were deployed in different scenarios: as a means of providing protection from asymmetric, terrorist-type threats; in a C-RAM context to counter the threat from incoming rockets, artillery and mortar rounds; and in an air defence scenario with an unmanned air vehicle serving as the target. Among other things, the 1-kW laser weapon demonstrator successfully sank a moving rubber raft (a substitute for an enemy speedboat), and also proved highly effective in destroying IEDs as well as neutralizing unexploded ordnance from a safe distance. In the C-RAM scenario, the 10-kW laser weapon demonstrator revealed that doubling the laser output from 5 kW (the design status in 2010) to 10 kW results in substantially improved performance against mortar rounds, with the required engagement time reduced by approximately 50%. A technological highlight in the air defence scenario was the engagement of a Tier 1-class unmanned air vehicle (UAV). The air defence system, equipped with a 10-kW laser weapon demonstrator, was able to detect, track and engage the target (the so-called “kill chain”), successfully destroying the UAV in flight.
The Oerlikon Skyguard system detected the incoming threat, initiated the electronic target tracking process, slewed the Skyshield turret in the direction of the UAV and transmitted the target data to the laser weapon demonstrator. Independently taking up the target tracking process, this effector switched to fine-tracking mode before aiming the laser beam at the drone and destroying it in a matter of seconds. Rheinmetall also occupies a leading position in another area of laser R&D: in cooperation with its cooperation partner, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precison Engineering (IOF) in Jena, Rheinmetall holds the public world record for spectral coupling of laser pulses with an 8-kW laser output and excellent beam quality. The latest live fire demonstration at the Ochsenboden proving ground, a joint effort by Rheinmetall’s Weapon and Munitions and Air Defence divisions, clearly shows that the Group already possesses all the skills necessary to develop complex laser weapon systems. Through its work on behalf of the German government and well-targeted application of its own resources, Rheinmetall has acquired tremendous expertise in this field in recent years. Rheinmetall expects a high-energy laser weapon system with an output of 100 kW to be available within the next three to five years. Even today, the modular, scalable design is able to meet a vast variety of requirements. Along with precision, ease of integration into various platforms and scalable escalation, laser weapons in future will offer the principal advantage of reduced cost, since material consumption and wear and tear with laser effectors is naturally low.
Press release here.