US military develops “world’s most powerful laser weapon”

The US military is developing its most powerful laser weapon to date, with technology a million times more powerful than current systems.

Laser weapons work by firing a continuous beam or beam until the target (which can be an enemy drone or missile) catches fire or melts. But the new Ultra Short Pulse Tactical Laser (UPSL) it would work by broadcasting bursts, more like a movie, but at an unimaginable speed, leaving the intensity intact.

As reported by the magazine New scientist, the prototype is being designed on behalf of the American firm Aqwest reach a terawatt for a few short 200 femtoseconds, that’s one trillionth of a second, compared to the maximum of 150 kilowatts of current systems.

It is not a deadly weapon: it would cause irritation or, in extreme cases, permanent blindness on human skin. But yeah an important part of a military strategy. In addition to evaporating the surface of a drone to disable it or overload optical sensors, it can also disrupt electronic systems, similar to electromagnetic pulses.

The goal is for the prototype to be ready by August next year. One of the requirements is that it be of a size, weight and robustness suitable for use on a variety of army platforms.

The Pentagon has a special interest in these types of weapons. Plans launched during the Trump administration include lasers that neutralize missiles and blasts that bombard enemy projectiles with subatomic particles until they become unusable.

Last May, the United States tested a laser weapon and destroyed a drone in mid-flight over the Pacific Ocean. “With this new advanced capability, we are redefining naval warfare for the Navy,” said the USS Portland commander.

The U.S. military was raised when the Navy reported in February last year that a Chinese warship fired a laser beam at a U.S. plane while on a reconnaissance flight over western Guam, in the Pacific Ocean, and was detected by the ship’s sensors. Russia, for its part, presented the powerful Peresvet laser cannon at the end of 2018, which is capable of shooting targets “in fractions of a second”.

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