New Delhi: The US Air Force is all set to bring laser weapons to its warplanes which will serve to burn missiles, UAVs, other combat aircraft, and practically anything clean out of the sky.
The weapons system, called directed-energy weapon pods will be mounted on the American warplans in the next five years.
At a Fifth-Generation Warfare lecture during the Air Force Association Air & Space conference Air Force, General Hawk Carlisle said, "I believe we'll have a directed energy pod we can put on a fighter plane very soon," adding, “That day is a lot closer than I think a lot of people think it is," Engadget reports.
The current frontrunner for the US Air Force contract seems to be a 150 kW HELLADS system from General Atomics. HELLADS stands for "High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System".
The third generation prototype, measuring 1.3 x 0.4 x 0.5 meters, is small enough to fit onto a Predator C UAV, exactly what DARPA wants to do by 2018 and runs off of a single lithium ion battery pack.
According to DARPA's Dr. David Shaver, the goal of HELLADS program is to develop a 150kW laser weapon system that is ten times smaller and lighter than current lasers of similar power, enabling integration onto tactical aircraft to defend against and defeat ground threats.
However, before the laser system is made operational, it needs to pass strict set of field tests against mortars, rockets, UAVs, simulated surface-to-air missiles and both ground and air vehicles at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
The USAF is also said to be working on developing and installing Lockheed Martin's ABC laser system on its 6th generation fighters by the mid-2030's.
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