Lockheed Martin's laser weapon can sink a boat from a mile away

[Shawn Knight]

We’ve known for some time now that the US military has been experimenting with lasers as a weapon on the battlefield. Such devices could be used to blast drones out of the sky but lately, defense contractor Lockheed Martin has turned their attention to the sea.

The company recently tested a prototype laser system called the Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) in the waters off the California coast. The system relies primarily on infrared sensors to track vessels from a distance even as the target maneuvers about the water and hides behind waves.

From here, an operator can select precisely where they want the laser to strike the boat. Once engaged and fired upon, the laser begins to burn through the hull material at which time the boat starts to take on water.

As you can see in the clip above, the system was able to successfully disable a boat at a range of approximately 1 mile. The entire process takes around 30 seconds to inflict full damage which may sound rather slow but then again, speed isn’t the focus here.

The system is being marketed as an affordable line of defense against short-range threats. True enough, it’d be much cheaper to simply power the 10-kilowatt laser versus firing off missiles or cannon rounds. This’ll likely be a boon to smaller navies that don’t have a ton of money to spend fighting off pirates at sea.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/56684-lockheed-martins-laser-weapon-can-sink-a-boat-from-a-mile-away.html

 

[Guest]

I'd rather aim at the sailors and save the boat. I think a boat with a .50 cal would defeat a boat with this laser.

 

[davislane1]

I think a boat with a .50 cal would defeat a boat with this laser.

Lol.

 

[VitalyT]

Anybody seen The Avengers? The type of mirror shielding though exaggerated is in fact a feasible defense against a high energy laser.

If a high energy laser is capable of penetrating a surface, then it needs 10-fold+ power to do similar damage to the same surface covered in highly reflective material.

And if that's not bad enough, there is high probability that the beam will reflect back at the firing party, resulting in self-liquidation

Remember the coyote trying to slingshot a big rock?

 

[davislane1]

Anybody seen The Avengers? The type of mirror shielding though exaggerated is in fact a feasible defense against a high energy laser.

If a high energy laser is capable of penetrating a surface, then it needs 10-fold+ power to do similar damage to the same surface covered in highly reflective material.

And if that's not bad enough, there is high probability that the beam will reflect back at the firing party, resulting in self-liquidation

Remember the coyote trying to slingshot a big rock?

There is not nor will there ever be a weapon that is indefensible and/or risk free. It all boils down to what's practical. I will admit, however, that I find laser guns boring. The rail guns they've had in development are much more fascinating machines.

 

[VitalyT]

There is not nor will there ever be a weapon that is indefensible and/or risk free. It all boils down to what's practical. I will admit, however, that I find laser guns boring. The rail guns they've had in development are much more fascinating machines.

I'm a big fan of BFG, fry them all in one shot!

Quote from Iron Man:

"They say that the best weapon is the one that you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree! I prefer... the weapon you only have to fire once. That's how Dad did it, that's how America does it... and it's worked out pretty well so far"

 

[Vrmithrax]

Mirror shielding is only as good as the mirror quality. And the surface quality of the mirror. A perfect mirror will last longest, but still heat up dramatically over time... And perfect mirrors are damned hard to achieve. Get a semi-perfect mirror, clouded by water droplets and salt water sediment/staining, and you will smoke that mirror in seconds, and then burn right through it.

This weapon is more deterrent than destruction. It would make more sense on freighters and lesser-armed naval vessels, as another anti-piracy method. Start hitting a pirate's incoming boat with the laser, and it starts to smoke and catch fire, they might re-think their heading. I've seen other versions of this type of laser that were targeting engines to disable incoming evildoers...

 

[Darkshadoe]

" It would make more sense on freighters and lesser-armed naval vessels, as another anti-piracy method."

Using a high energy laser on someone just for downloading a movie is overkill dont ya think?

 

[Greg S]

This still has a long way to go before becoming practical though. Steel vs. a laser = the laser doesn't work. It's not easy to set steel on fire. At the very most, some top most components could be damaged.

 

[Guest]

Point it at a Somali pirates head...pop, tomato!

 

[Guest]

If humans put as much energy and time into understanding the cause of suffering rather than squandering all their resources in a futile effort to eradicate their relatives in a stupendous denial of their own mortality... they might just come to recognize what the wise have known for eons.

 

[gibbstar]

If humans put as much energy and time into understanding the cause of suffering rather than squandering all their resources in a futile effort to eradicate their relatives in a stupendous denial of their own mortality... they might just come to recognize what the wise have known for eons.

Modern humans have only been around for roughly 50,000 years, whereas an eon is around half a billion years. So, your statement that "what the wise have known for eons" is not only false, but utterly ridiculous. As for you pondering when humans will understand the cause of suffering, I will tell tell you that I surely have found it in reading your uneducated, bleeding-heart post.

 

[VitalyT]

Meh, Chuck Norris had it like 20 years ago...

 

[davislane1]

If humans put as much energy and time into understanding the cause of suffering...

The cause of suffering was identified centuries ago. I'll give you the highly condensed version: nature.

they might just come to recognize what the wise have known for eons.

And that would be?

 

[Guest]

Modern humans have only been around for roughly 50,000 years, whereas an eon is around half a billion years. So, your statement that "what the wise have known for eons" is not only false, but utterly ridiculous. As for you pondering when humans will understand the cause of suffering, I will tell tell you that I surely have found it in reading your uneducated, bleeding-heart post.

And where was it written the "wise" were human or necessarily relegated to this planet?

 

[Guest]

The cause of suffering was identified centuries ago. I'll give you the highly condensed version: nature.

Suffering requires sentience. A rock is never uncomfortable.

And that would be?

The essence of mind.

 

[Guest]

This is what Australia needs to fend off boat people!

 

[ralph058]

Let's see, it takes 30sec against a Zodiac within 0.50 cal machine gun effective range. Just how long will it take against a steel hulled boat?

 

[wiyosaya]

Anybody seen The Avengers? The type of mirror shielding though exaggerated is in fact a feasible defense against a high energy laser.

If a high energy laser is capable of penetrating a surface, then it needs 10-fold+ power to do similar damage to the same surface covered in highly reflective material.

And if that's not bad enough, there is high probability that the beam will reflect back at the firing party, resulting in self-liquidation

Remember the coyote trying to slingshot a big rock?

Mirrors have a limit to their power handling capability. While what you see in sci-fi may have some merit, the energy in this laser is likely far greater than most mirrors, even high energy mirrors, can handle. In my opinion, it is better not to believe sci-fi things like this that make for a good story without vetting the science behind it.

The only effective mirror-based defense against this laser would likely be to employ a coating on the entire ship that is the equivalent of the high energy mirrors that are used in constructing high-energy lasers. These mirrors reflect only a very narrow band of light, and, because of their nature, would cost a fortune to coat on an entire boat. They are different from metal mirrors in that these mirrors are capable of reflecting 99+ percent of the energy at the peak wavelength.

Aluminum's reflectance is much lower and that is the metal's Achilles' heel when acting as a high energy reflector. Why? Because even a highly-polished aluminum mirror will absorb a portion of the incident energy which will convert to heat, and if the incident energy is high enough, the mirror will melt at the point of contact. In melting, the reflective property will be lost; at that point, it is only a matter of time before the laser burns through the metal. IMHO, no metal mirror would be able to survive this laser since the laser is designed to burn through metal.

Something that has a much better chance of surviving this is a ceramic like the tiles on the space shuttle. However, I am sure that would present other problems when used as the hull material for a boat.

 

[Puiu]

Anybody seen The Avengers? The type of mirror shielding though exaggerated is in fact a feasible defense against a high energy laser.

If a high energy laser is capable of penetrating a surface, then it needs 10-fold+ power to do similar damage to the same surface covered in highly reflective material.

And if that's not bad enough, there is high probability that the beam will reflect back at the firing party, resulting in self-liquidation

Remember the coyote trying to slingshot a big rock?

then they'll just use it to blind you

 

[SNGX1275]

then they'll just use it to blind you

You could kill them with it, but you can't blind them. After WWI it was a war crime to blind enemies. Also, the specific use of laser weapons for blinding was banned in 1980 protocol to the Geneva Convention.

 

[tipstir]

Colt 45 Gun Corp Plant in CT, had the prototype laser rifle in their showcase. While working on project with them with UPS at the time. That's what I was told by one of their engineers. So I am sure that out being tested since then. Now they have the same tech to use on ships, planes and etc.

 

[Guest]

That sir, is a great way to power a spacecraft. Have some sort of ablative shield underneath and burn the shield with the laser, thus ejecting a fiery gas in a typical rocket like manner.
Spacex .. Here I come .. ground based power, overcoming the whole "weight of fuel" problem. This and thermionic Ion motors
BUT lasers and Radioactive materials .. the nay-sayers would have a field day.
Space based laser beams (powered by Solar Panels) to power distant probes (Uranus,Neptune possibly extra-solar?) (via "solar" panels) .. yes I'll have some of that.
If not .. why not ..?