by Lorenzo Nicolao
Forty years of research for an AI system that only requires electricity, is cheap and easy to use. It is also used by the Israeli army as a defense
Deadly laser beams like in science fiction novels and movies. This time it wasn’t the Imperial troops from Star Wars, it was the US military. A drone is the first guinea pig to pay the price. The aircraft’s power system was rendered inoperable by the new technology, neutralizing one of the most insidious threats of war to an air force. The new system is called Layered Laser Defense (Ldd) and was developed by Lockheed Martin, a historic partner of the US military since the days of the world wars and always at the forefront of military technological advances. The main novelty concerns complete independence from the use of chemical substances, since only electric current powers the new weapon. This element in particular would allow its application and significantly reduce the cost compared to the technologies used so far.
Forty years of study
After a long experimental phase, the US Navy used this type of laser on a drone for the first time during a test in New Mexico. The actual result obtained is the result of tests carried out over the last ten years, with the first applications in the field from 2014 to date, even if the idea of the project was born almost 40 years ago. The very first experiment dates back to 1980, in the middle of the Cold War. The use of chemical compounds to apply the laser created difficulties in using the weapon effectively in the context of war. After the tests on the ship “Uss Ponse” and the “Uss Portland”, the decisive test will follow in February 2022. The element that required the most precise tuning and on which is still being studied that related to the use of artificial intelligence that deals with the autonomous identification and alignment of the targets of the laser beam, making the application of this technology more and more immediate and effective , even in War contexts that may require very short response and response times.
Israeli technology
This opens up new possibilities in the field of warfare, since the weapon is based solely on electricity, without the use of other expensive ammunition or chemical compounds. A decisive innovation for use in war. In addition to drones, this technology can also be used to intercept cruise missiles and neutralize FACs (Fast Attack Craft) in the case of ships armed with cannons and missiles capable of shooting down other boats. The United States is not the only country developing this technology, as Israel is currently the country that has made the most progress in this regard. It is no coincidence that the so-called Iron Beam, a mobile weapon developed by the Rafael Industry and promising to become the heir to the decade-old Iron Dome anti-missile system already in widespread use against external threats, one of the peak achievements represents the Israeli army’s extensive use of laser technology in the near future. The weapon is the result of close cooperation between private companies and the Israeli Defense Ministry. The system, which is currently purely defensive, has a range of 4 to 7 kilometers, but it is not excluded that in the near future it could open up new war scenarios, increasingly similar to those that viewers have only been used to from the cinema until now .
April 23, 2022 (Change April 23, 2022 | 14:55)
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