LASER in military
LASERS AND OTHER DIRECTED-ENERGY WEAPONS HAVE
MANY ADVANTAGES OVER CONVENTIONAL PROJECTILE
WEAPONS LIKE BULLETS AND MISSILES:
THE WEAPONS' LIGHT OUTPUTS CAN TRAVEL AT THE
VELOCITY OF LIGHT.
THE WEAPONS CAN BE PRECISELY TARGETED.
THEIR ENERGY OUTPUT CAN BE CONTROLLED --
HIGH-POWER FOR LETHAL OUTCOMES OR CUTTING
AND LOW-POWER FOR NONLETHAL OUTCOMES.
How can a laser be a weapon?
Light bulb sends light waves out in every direction. These waves, just like waves in water, have peaks and troughs, or
high points and low points. If you were able to see each light wave coming from an incandescent bulb, you'd see
lots of peaks and troughs passing you at the same time. There are also lots of frequencies, or colors, of light coming
from a light bulb, and they all combine to create what looks like white light.
A laser is even more focused than a light bulb. It creates only one wavelength, or color, of light. The peaks and
troughs from the light waves are also synchronized peak to peak and trough to trough. This means that the different
waves don't interfere with each other. This light travels only in one direction. The light beam can be tightly focused
and remain so over great distances. Lasers can produce light of tremendous powers (1,000 to 1 million times
stronger than a typical light bulb). Various types of lasers can produce various wavelengths of light, from the
infrared range through the visible wavelengths to the ultraviolet range.
Light is basically moving energy. A laser produces very intense energy that can travel over very long distances. That's
why a laser can become a weapon while the light from an incandescent bulb typically can't.
▪ Airborne Laser (ABL)
▪ The U.S. Air Force's Airborne Laser (ABL) is designed
to destroy incoming missiles during its boost phase (the
upward path near its origin)
▪ The Boeing 747 jumbo jet was its first flight in April 29,
1988
▪ An airborne laser (ABL) is being developed by Boeing,
Northrup Grumman and Lockheed Martin contractors in
2002.
▪ The ABL is mounted in a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet. It
consists of four lasers, advanced adaptive optics, sensors,
and computers to locate, track and destroy missiles. It
works like this:
1. Infrared sensors detect the heat signature of a boosting missile and report information to an Active
Tracking Laser.
2. The Active Tracking Laser tracks the missile and reports relevant tracking information (distance,
speed, altitude).
3. The Tracker Illuminator Laser scans the target and figures out where best to aim the high-energy
laser.
4. The Beacon Illuminator Laser shines on the target, determines the amount of atmospheric
turbulence between the ABL and the target, and relays this information to the adaptive optics
system in the aiming mechanism of the high-energy laser.
5. The Adaptive Optics system is made of deformable mirrors that compensate for atmospheric
turbulence. The turret mounted in the nose houses a 1.5-meter telescope as part of the optics
system.
6. The COIL laser fires a megawatt beam at the target. The beam exits the ABL through the nose-
mounted turret.
7. The high-energy laser beam penetrates the skin of the target missile and disables or explodes it,
depending upon where the beam strikes.
▪ All of the operations are coordinated by computer.
▪ The Air Force is currently testing the ABL and says that its range is in the order of hundreds of
kilometers. The ABL will require a crew of six when it is fully operational, and they'll wear special safety
goggles to protect their eyes from possible reflections of the beams by water droplets in the air.
▪ Free electron laser (FEL)
There are several lasers currently being used for military purposes. One that's being researched and developed is
the free electron laser (FEL). In the 1970s, Stanford physicist John Madey invented and patented the FEL, which
consists of an electron injector, a particle accelerator and a magnetic undulator or wiggler. It works like this:
1. The electron injector injects a pulse of free electrons into the particle accelerator.
2. The particle accelerator accelerates the electrons to near the speed of light (300,000 km/s)
3. The electrons move through the undulator or wiggler, which is a series of magnets with alternating north-
south directions.
4. Inside the wiggler, the electrons oscillate back and forth. With each bend, they emit light of a specific
wavelength.
5. The spacing of the magnets within the wiggler controls the wavelength of emitted light. So, the FEL laser can
be tuned by changing the magnet spacing.
6. In theory, the FEL can be tuned from the infrared region to the X-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Components of a free electron laser oscillator
• FELs have been used to produce high-energy infrared light and synchrotron X-rays for research
purposes.
• FEL will be able to detect threats. An incoming missile won't outrun it, out maneuver it or escape it
