Lasers - no sharks

[tonyvid]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politic...


Cool!


You wouldn't want to be in the same line of sight by accident though

[rhinochopig]

I've never understood the obsession with laser weapons, as they suffer from thermal blooming in anything other clear skies.

[Horse_Apple]

I like this bit: 'Invented by Boeing'

Was it intended as a device to prevent late payment?

On the bright side, it looks like we will have a new tool to deal with the Govt's planned unmanned eyes in the sky

Edited by Horse_Apple on Wednesday 11th February 11:12

[tonyvid]

True, fine in clear desert air but limited anywhere with humidity.

[fathomfive]

What I want to know is if they'd engineered in a quality 'laser' sound effect when firing it?

[OJ]

rhinochopig said:

I've never understood the obsession with laser weapons, as they suffer from thermal blooming in anything other clear skies.

I'm not an expert but instantaneous fire/impact time, simpler aiming/guidance, no requirement to reload (assuming you've got a man enough power plant and cooling), no armament/propellant to carry so potential for lighter weight

Generally speaking though, yes, it has it's problems, but directed energy weapons do have a lot of appeal... it does appear to be the next logical step in weaponry

[DrTre]

fathomfive said:

What I want to know is if they'd engineered in a quality 'laser' sound effect when firing it?

The operator has to do it themselves. "Target acquired, lock on, fire! WooooooooPcheeeiiiieeee!"

[Simpo Two]

I can see the instructions now:

Morrison's Microwave Meal for One:

700W: 8 mins
800W: 7 mins
Military laser: 0.1 msec

[rhinochopig]

OJ said:

rhinochopig said:

I've never understood the obsession with laser weapons, as they suffer from thermal blooming in anything other clear skies.

I'm not an expert but instantaneous fire/impact time, simpler aiming/guidance, no requirement to reload (assuming you've got a man enough power plant and cooling), no armament/propellant to carry so potential for lighter weight

Generally speaking though, yes, it has it's problems, but directed energy weapons do have a lot of appeal... it does appear to be the next logical step in weaponry

The thing is, tracking is probably as complex as a missile tracking system. In order to mitigate thermal blooming, flexible mirrors are used to mitigate the effect. Also the size of the power plant, means that the power of the laser is capped, which requires the laser to "paint" the object for some time in order to heat it to a sufficient temp to do damage. This requires some pretty sophisticated tracking equipment.

[RemaL]

very intresting read that

[OJ]

rhinochopig said:

The thing is, tracking is probably as complex as a missile tracking system. In order to mitigate thermal blooming, flexible mirrors are used to mitigate the effect. Also the size of the power plant, means that the power of the laser is capped, which requires the laser to "paint" the object for some time in order to heat it to a sufficient temp to do damage. This requires some pretty sophisticated tracking equipment.

Flexible mirrors, cool!

I suppose you could argue that this is a first step though, once the tech becomes a bit more developed then it'll hold the advantages and mitigate the disadvantages.

I would guess the end goal is replacing shells and SAM's, and being able to shoot something down accurately with a re-usable piece of equipment rather than blowing something up that has a hundred grands worth of gear on board or firing a hundred pot shots with little accuracy...

[LukeBird]

Simpo Two said:

I can see the instructions now:

Morrison's Microwave Meal for One:

700W: 8 mins
800W: 7 mins
Military laser: 0.1 msec

Can you imagine the safety warning that'd go with it...

[_Deano]

Do you think that the engine needs to be running when using that or do they use a heavy duty 12V battery?

[im]

Yep - What a brilliant weapon to develop...

...the Taleban, Al-Queda etc are gonna have a field day with our passenger flights once they capture one of those on the battlefield.

Even if the trouble in Ireland re-ignites and these thingsare obtainable...jeez.

If its as advertised that weapon - used copiously - could wreak almost as much devastation as a Nuke.

[normalbloke]

LukeBird said:

Simpo Two said:

I can see the instructions now:

Morrison's Microwave Meal for One:

700W: 8 mins
800W: 7 mins
Military laser: 0.1 msec

Can you imagine the safety warning that'd go with it...

Caution, contents may be hot

[Jamus]

Pew pew.

[G'kar]

LukeBird said:

Simpo Two said:

I can see the instructions now:

Morrison's Microwave Meal for One:

700W: 8 mins
800W: 7 mins
Military laser: 0.1 msec

Can you imagine the safety warning that'd go with it...

Destruction times based on a 6,500,000,000W laser. Please adjust for your own WMD.

[SS HSV]

Ah the Skynet era has arrived.

On a lighter note, I could have a lot of fun with that vechicle and Gatso's

[Ikemi]

Anyone else having flash backs to playing Command & Conquer?

Edited by Ikemi on Wednesday 11th February 15:59

[paulmurr]

That's terrific... except terrorists don't normally use planes or UAVs.

What the US military really need is a device that can detect cement mixers full of diesel and fertiliser.