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Dynamite With A Laser Beam...


4scourge7

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On ‎15‎/‎09‎/‎2017 at 8:21 AM, Paul E said:

I saw this when I visited DSEi this week. It's actually quite big, it's about the size of a small calibre gun mounting.

Interesting as the pics don`t convey scale very well. Quite a leap from the huge testbeds pictured in the nineties.

 

Said to be the counter to new gen hypersonic missiles for T26 and T45. We shall see.

 

Cheers, Ian

 

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14 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

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I think you have a point. I can't see how this is going to stop a missile travelling in excess of Mach 3. Even if it heats the missile up sufficiently quickly for it to explode, there will still be plenty enough shrapnel travelling at high speed in a forward direction to give someone a bad day.

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From my time 20 years ago in the early days of bringing a (presumably) much lower power naval laser range finder into service, the safety trace that had to be kept clear from anyone inadvertently damaging their eyesight when the equipment was "firing" was enormous.  I dread to think how big an area will have to be kept clear for something like this in any peace time training.

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2 hours ago, Francis Macnaughton said:

From my time 20 years ago in the early days of bringing a (presumably) much lower power naval laser range finder into service, the safety trace that had to be kept clear from anyone inadvertently damaging their eyesight when the equipment was "firing" was enormous.  I dread to think how big an area will have to be kept clear for something like this in any peace time training.

Hi Francis,

 

These Lasers (or as they are now being called directed energy weapons) are far more powerful than the range finders that we know. In fact they are so hungry for energy that they need extra generation capacity and energy storage banks to feed them, which means that there is a whole heap of big below deck equipment needed for this which is never mentioned in the glossies.

 

Whilst there may be an advantage that the magazine never empties; I wonder like you how it would operate safely when in company with other ships or aircraft. And worse still if the Laser is reflected back off the sea surface whilst trying to bring down a sea skimming missile you are going to get a nasty dose of your own medicine.    

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My personal experience with lasers is limited to having outpatient laser surgery on one leg for ten years, but my understanding is that sufficiently powerful lasers are more likely to create a jet of steam when they hit water, rather than go bouncing around like blaster bolts in the Death Star trash compactor. I imagine it's much like firing any other weapon in proximity to other ships.

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