Solid State Laser Riffle Heats Up
By: Shane Ennerson
The military still doesn't have a deployable ray gun, but it seems that more and more people are placing their bets on the solid state, electric-powered laser.
Not wanting to be left out of the race to field compact battlefield lasers, Boeing announced yesterday that it's tested its own solid-state laser technology. "In each laser firing at Boeing's facility in West Hills, Calif., the high-energy laser achieved power levels of over 25 kilowatts for multi-second durations, with a measured beam quality suitable for a tactical weapon system," says Boeing.
What's interesting about this announcement is that Boeing is not part of the Defense Department's Joint High-Powered Solid State Laser, a program that has funded Northrop Grumman and Textron to build a deployable laser weapon. Boeing at one point teamed with the Livermore lab on a solid-state work, but that laser, which was powerful but large, was not selected by the program for funding. Similarly, Raytheon also has a solid state laser that was passed over for funding. Both Livermore and Raytheon have continued their solid-state laser work on their own dime, however. Boeing, until this point, did not appear to be that active on solid-state lasers, and it appears this new effort is self-funded.
It's easy to see why companies might invest their own money in solid-state lasers -- this technology is looking like the most practical route to deployable laser weapons, particularly given the difficulties of deploying chemical lasers.
The trend toward solid-state lasers can also be seen abroad. In an interview with Defense Technology International, a former senior Israeli official talks about his country's reasoning behind moving away from chemical lasers for missile defense. He says he expects solid-state lasers to mature within the next 2-3 years (I think that's a bit optimistic, but not impossible).
Boeing's twenty-five kilowatts is far below the estimates of 100 kilowatt-minimum needed for a tactical weapon, and still behind several competitors in the field, but it could be a start, particularly if Boeing's technology is scalable and compact. Each company has its own approach to solid-state lasers: Textron used a "zigzag" method, Northrop does beam-combining, and Boeing, for its part, says its laser "integrates multiple thin-disk lasers into a single system."
While there are high hopes for solid-state lasers, I have yet to see one that isn't sitting on a pretty large laboratory bench. So, it's not just raw power that counts, but the ability of companies to demonstrate technology that can move beyond the lab.
Freelance writer working for Dragonlasers at http://www.dragonlasers.com
Green laser module
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