No, that's not the opening line of a summer sci-fi blockbluster. It's Boeing's description of a compact laser system that can quietly shoot a drone out of the sky.
The company this week released a video (below) that shows off a laser weapons system that can track and disable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a "silent, invisible, and precise" manner. It's noteworthy, Boeing said, because it's portable and can set up quickly.
"The system recently reached a milestone at an exercise at Point Mugu, Calif. by tracking and disabling a moving, untethered unmanned aerial vehicle," Boeing said, meaning it is "on the brink of becoming battlefield-ready."
The video, which features footage of an earlier, tethered flight shows the drone's wing suddenly catching fire as it buzzes along.
"If you were on the receiving end of laser energy, you would have no idea where it was coming from or what was even happening," Boeing engineer Issac Neal says in the video.
The system has four parts: a water-cooled chiller, battery power supply, a fiber laser, and upgraded beam director. That overhauled beam director means the most recent version is about 40 percent lighter than Boeing's first prototype, allowing for portability. One person can operate the 2-kilowatt laser alone.
"It's four boxes with very simple interconnects," said David DeYoung from Boeing's laser and electro-optical systems team.
For more information and video visit: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2490281,00.asp
Source: pcmag.com
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