tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post8112773835735600790..comments2024-03-28T07:56:09.239-07:00Comments on Navy Matters: Navy LasersComNavOpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09669644332369727431noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-20171707331312682712014-10-22T18:11:13.868-07:002014-10-22T18:11:13.868-07:00laser weapons, didnt they also need like tremendou...laser weapons, didnt they also need like tremendous amount of energy in relation to their power output ? and didnt they need time to "burn" the target in the exact spot and that in the thick lower atmoshpere too ? <br /><br />a radar guided AAA might be more effective and cheaper than a laser Weapon thats powerful enough to kill drones.. why go for expensive answer (using patriots or lasers) when you can get cheap low tech weapon augmented with sophisticated targetting ?<br /><br />i always wonder if in a real heavy conflict, the enemy wont use some kind of high speed maneurvering decoy drones which purpose is to deplete the defender's anti missile system ? this also applicable to Ship's anti missile defense... <br /><br />the pursuit for high tech weapons may be a white elephant that useless in the next serious conflict.. i mean, a rifle from Boer War or Zulu war can still easily kill a modern US infantryman decked with body armour and all those high tech kit.. buntalanlucuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02058846205282464955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-27539130740638435172014-08-12T17:31:04.814-07:002014-08-12T17:31:04.814-07:00A ship carrying at a minimum of twp megawatt class...A ship carrying at a minimum of twp megawatt class lasers, clearly we are not talking about a small ship. Add in a normal power requirements of a modern warship and you have a very large demand for power.<br /><br />Given that as these weapons evolve, they will get more powerful not less, only increasing the demand for power.<br /><br />Are we likely to reach a point where you need a nuclear power plant in order to meet that demand?<br /><br />Mark<br /> <br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-40225208900139674162014-08-12T09:07:39.428-07:002014-08-12T09:07:39.428-07:00Scott, nice discussion! Thanks.Scott, nice discussion! Thanks.ComNavOpshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09669644332369727431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-16575557539686774532014-08-12T09:04:35.215-07:002014-08-12T09:04:35.215-07:00The kilowatt-class lasers will be useful in the ne...The kilowatt-class lasers will be useful in the near term to mid-term for close in point defense. <br /><br />But if we want a weaponized laser which is effective out to 20 or 30 kilometers, a much more expensive and complicated megawatt-class, multi-spectrum free electron laser which can burn through a variety of atmospheric interferences will be needed. <br /><br />As implemented aboard a warship, megawatt-class lasers will not be cheap to acquire, and the initial versions will likely be finicky, tempermental beasts to operate and maintain under the stress of a high intensity combat engagement. <br /><br />You have carry at least two of these large megawatt-class lasers aboard a warship in case one of them burns out in the course of a combat engagement. Because of their large footprints, it is my opinion that the warships which carry megawatt-class lasers must be designed from the keel up to handle these large devices; and provision for the lasers and their supporting equipment must be an integral part of the warship's foundational architecture. <br /><br />If one distributes the cost of a megawatt-class laser and the specialized onboard engineering plant needed to support it, the cost will not be pennies per shot, it will be several dollars per shot. <br /><br />Their costs aside, megawatt-class laser which could reliably reach out to 30 kilometers could play a substantial role in allowing a task force commander to manage fleet defense ordnance consumption patterns and rates in real time, doing so in ways that maximize protection of the fleet while at the same time allowing some portion of the fleet's defensive resources to be reallocated towards offensive missions. Scott Brimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-41398376151514449532014-08-11T17:49:27.119-07:002014-08-11T17:49:27.119-07:00OK. Something else. How about modified switchblade...OK. Something else. How about modified switchblade drone. Cheap UAV to counter cheap UAV. Can distibute them throughout infantary units to provide wide coverage. How about dual use? UAV can be used to target either slow flying drones, helicoptors or, dive and explode into ground targets. Not sure of the cost, but fairly sure its goning to be cheaper then lasers.<br />Dave PAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-14406102856224828192014-08-11T15:38:44.082-07:002014-08-11T15:38:44.082-07:00Just don't try using it when its dusty, or rai...Just don't try using it when its dusty, or raining or the enemy uses smoke. All of these cause major disruptions to a laser. Plus power drops off at the SQUARE of the distance. Twice as far, 1/4 the power. For fixed defenses tied into a power grid, maybe you'll be able to push enough power. Much better solution: restart LA/O-X program for the Air Force. The Navy could probably benefit from a carrier version too.<br /><br />Randall RappAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-48605462841747245262014-08-10T18:32:36.389-07:002014-08-10T18:32:36.389-07:00What about jaming the drones?
Apparently its fair...What about jaming the drones? <br />Apparently its fairly simple to jam line of sight controlled UAVs<br /><br />http://privat.bahnhof.se/wb907234/killuav.htm<br />DavePAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-71519259150698122282014-08-10T10:56:29.207-07:002014-08-10T10:56:29.207-07:00And what better way to test a near operatinal syst...And what better way to test a near operatinal system than in israel now or in the future.<br />If it works good, if it does not work so good, they can learn on the real experience not staged range test.<br />Remeber how the US Phalancs C-RAM, was made in urgency for the use in Iraq.Storm Shadowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10999164214935172607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-33667278229980824942014-08-10T08:53:43.386-07:002014-08-10T08:53:43.386-07:00TrT, quite right about the F-16. Who knows, maybe...TrT, quite right about the F-16. Who knows, maybe they just wanted to do a live fire exercise of their Patriot battery?ComNavOpshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09669644332369727431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-16130579254552982972014-08-10T08:20:55.312-07:002014-08-10T08:20:55.312-07:00Even shooting it down with an F16 cannon (or BVRAA...Even shooting it down with an F16 cannon (or BVRAAM) would be cheaper than a Patriot?<br />Maybe they were spooked enough that hitting it with a patriot made sense?TrThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07316335177828136131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-61110260836356923362014-08-10T08:01:39.120-07:002014-08-10T08:01:39.120-07:00Mark, your conclusion about the degree of sophisti...Mark, your conclusion about the degree of sophistication of the UAV is possible but it's not the conclusion I would make. Israel has no AAA that I'm aware of. There is not even a hint that Hamas had any kind of remotely advanced UAV. I don't know why they chose to use a Patriot.<br /><br />Lasers, once deployed, would be cheap to operate on a per shot basis, at least compared to missiles. Development, of course, is much more expensive.<br /><br />Your idea about A2A armed UAVs for an anti-UAV role is interesting and might be worth exploring. Good thought.ComNavOpshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09669644332369727431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-29825333042234528642014-08-10T06:33:03.193-07:002014-08-10T06:33:03.193-07:00Cause none of these systems are yet ready to be de...Cause none of these systems are yet ready to be deployed. There isn't a single production grade system out there. All are still very experimental. Are they getting close? yes, but they still have a ways to go.atshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11410880091736531848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-56570338337817034932014-08-10T06:29:26.216-07:002014-08-10T06:29:26.216-07:00It sounds good, but its short on detail.
If it ob...It sounds good, but its short on detail.<br /><br />If it obliterated an 82mm solid steel sphere thats impressive<br />If it was an 82mm, 1mm thick, steel sphere, and it was just deformed and knocked off course, thats less so.<br /><br />The same goes for cutting through a girder.<br />If it just sliced one in half light sabre style, thats awesome, if it was a long girder, supported at either end, and the middle was heated a bit so it couldnt support the weight....TrThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07316335177828136131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-25482459784323617802014-08-10T04:28:44.699-07:002014-08-10T04:28:44.699-07:00Well, gentleman the technology is already there ( ...Well, gentleman the technology is already there ( or almost there, but pretty close )<br /><br /> defense-update.com/20121218_rheinmetall_hel_weapon.html<br /><br />So how come israel might never heard of it ? Strange. They could atleast adopt some reinmetall lases for testing. <br />But why do that when you can have patriots and iron dome with US taxpayer money. Hmm just wondering .Storm Shadowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10999164214935172607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-43458513340458019552014-08-10T00:39:42.285-07:002014-08-10T00:39:42.285-07:00My first reaction was surely you do not need a Pat...My first reaction was surely you do not need a Patriot to shot down a UAV?<br /><br />So thinking it through, given the fact that they choose to use a Patriot, given all other options they had at their disposal,tells me, the UAV in question was something more sophisticated than a children''s toy you could purchase at Kmart, and was travelling at serious altitude. <br /><br />Lets assume it was travelling at too high an altitude for AAA. Even if it was not the case here, that is a situation we will face in the future.<br /><br />Once you say to high for AAA, you probably rule out small man portable systems as well. This leaves us with just large long range systems like Patriot.<br /><br />Lasers? Possible but I am not sure you are really talking that cheap. I cannot remember anybody using that term to describe any laser developed to kill anything at range.<br /><br />Is armed UAV to UAV combat possible? Not yet, but I think this is the solution. A reaper would only need a small gun pod.<br /><br />Mark<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-54740135035684024742014-08-09T12:44:15.500-07:002014-08-09T12:44:15.500-07:00I don't get why SPAAGS arent deployed for this...I don't get why SPAAGS arent deployed for this.<br />We had radar ranged, directed, variable timer fused high explosive cannon shells in the forties<br />Drones are far less survivable than Lancaster's and liberatorsTrThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07316335177828136131noreply@blogger.com