Laser Weaponary: Fact or Fiction?

Alright, I talked 2 ppl bout Laser Weaponary lately, and many say it's impossible. In fact, many ppl said that Plasma would b the realistic generation of weapons. Does any1 have anything on it?

Don't we already have laser weapons?
Airborne laser
www.airforce-technology.com...

Problem with them is that they need lots of energy to do significant damage, and our means of storing energy nowdays suck. My MP3 lasts only two hours

And that ABL needs a whole cargo full of chemicals used for its battery.

Maybe sometime in the future some genius may design some kind of battery that's powerful, very high capacity, and small, then lasers would be more practical weapons.

[edit on 24-7-2005 by Taishyou]

Okay, sry, let me fix my queston:

Lasers that can harm ppl.

The only 1 I've heard is that 1 4 the Chinook that's sooooooo accurate.

Suggest you check out the ATL (Advanced Tactical Laser) which can certainly hurt people and will be in service in the not-too-distant.

Apart from that there are plenty of laser dazzle/blinding devices.

A number of past ATS topics of interest to you, SEAL Trident?
Humvee with Laser Cannon in Afghanistan
Are Laser & Kinetic Weapons Closer Than We Think?
Laser Guns or Rail Gun
Mobile High Energy Laser Test Successfully Destroys Large Inbound Rocket
The Airborne Laser (YAL-1A)
Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) and Targeted Individuals (TI?s)
Directed Energy Weapons, An ATS Analysis & Discussion





seekerof

First laser gun deployed by us humans:
. This gun is for special operation personnels operating in in-door environment. Note, this gun does not burn holes in the target's body but burn the target's eyes and would cause anywhere from temporary (a few days) to permanent blindness.

More pics of the Chinese laser gun:






[edit on 25-7-2005 by COWlan]

[edit on 25-7-2005 by COWlan]

According to Protocol IV (Blinding Laser Weapons) of the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons, blinding the enemy with laser light is against international law.
Granted, China is not a signee of the treaty but it would be nice to think that a nation such as China would adopt it.

Hmm...

Last time I looked Invading a Soverign Country was illegal...

Guess its all in the eye of the beholder these days..

Glad the U.S. Govt. is setting such a good example...

I'm sure other countries will soon follow suit..

Last I heard the president of the United States has the power to declare war on any country. Yeah I think it was in a little something called the US constitution.

Originally posted by TruthMagnet
Hmm...

Last time I looked Invading a Soverign Country was illegal...

Guess its all in the eye of the beholder these days..

Glad the U.S. Govt. is setting such a good example...

I'm sure other countries will soon follow suit..

Weeee! Here we go off topic!

This thread is not about invading countries - it's about battlefield lasers.
Lasers and the Blinding Laser law is pertinent to this thread - international law and invading other countries is not.

WestPoint23,

Umm... you might want to dust off that old document we have in America:

THE CONSTITUTION !

www.law.cornell.edu...


I think you are perhaps thinking of congress I hope...

Also, even if congress decides to declare all the wars they choose, and agrees to torture and abuse citizens of whichever nation they wish - it still violates International Law

Now as to how this applies I am just saying - don't be surprised when China deploys a whole heck of a lot of unethical weaponry in the near future - includeing this cool yet horrible Laser blinding gun.

Taiwan may want to invest in some safety goggles methinks...

Tnx 4 the posts guys. I didn't know that either COWlan, but it's not excatly what I'm looking 4. That's my fault though, so this is what I meant:

www.cncgeneralsworld.com...

search.viewpoint.com... kB&ft=jpeg&fn=lasertag_vr.jpg&img=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2E3001ad%2Ecom%2Fproductimages%2Flasertag%5Fvr%2Ejpg&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2E3001ad%2Ecom%2FLaser%5FT ag%5FVR%2Ecfm&rc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2E3001ad%2Ecom%2FLaser%5FTag%5FVR%2Ecfm

Laser Beams that could kill. 4 ya'll who have seen the movie "Lost in Space", weapons like those: Do u think we could build weapons like those?

I ask this because in many modern books and movies, Laser Weaponry seems to b seen less and less. In fact, in many of those books, they say that Laser Beam Weaponry r impossible.

[edit on 25-7-2005 by SEAL Trident]

Wow, when did that laser gun appear? Is it already in service?

Never heard about it before. Very interesting

PLA spends a massive amount of money in things that could counter American advantage in modern warfare and laser fits right in. This is the first of many laser weaponry that is designed to improve combat efficiency in the future. We have already seen the JD-3 active laser self defence system on the Type-98/G MBTs which actively search out and burn out optical lenses in helicopters and other tanks so they can't see and fire (even blinding the gunner), this laser gun derives from the techonology of the JD-3 system except its smaller and doesn't need to be as powerful. According to the CIA (I believe the 2004 Military Power Report) they said that China has already designed a laser weapon similar the THEL (big ground based, unmovable laser weaponry) except to blind remote sensing sattelites flying in space by working the same way as the JD-3 and the laser gun which is to burn out the optics of the sattelites.

China is also spending alot in nano-technology, bio-technology, radiowave weapons, elctromagnetic technology and miniaturized nuclear weapons (like a 50 KT nuke in a ciggarette carton). But these remain to be seen in public or even PLA admitting to developing these. All remains to be seen................. Wait two decades and see if these really counter American advantage.

Originally posted by SEAL Trident

Laser Beams that could kill. 4 ya'll who have seen the movie "Lost in Space", weapons like those: Do u think we could build weapons like those?

I ask this because in many modern books and movies, Laser Weaponry seems to b seen less and less. In fact, in many of those books, they say that Laser Beam Weaponry r impossible.

[edit on 25-7-2005 by SEAL Trident]

umm well I don't think laser weapons will be taht popular (even uin the future) for terrestrial warfare..

Maybe for zero g combat as lasers don't incorporate a recoil, and mind you a wicked recoil in space could send you somewhere you dont want to go!!

Originally posted by Daedalus3
umm well I don't think laser weapons will be taht popular (even uin the future) for terrestrial warfare..

Y do u say that?

Mainly because the infrastructure is already in place for projectile based explosive munitions..
WE should see an improvemnt over the current projectiles in terms of their warhead payloads/capabilities..Maybe "smart" dispersion/detonation type weaps
Laser weaponry also is not "explosive" in nature..
Its just extremely penetrable..
Explosive warheads pack more of a punch..
But lasers will be useful for "point defense" mechanisms like

Originally posted by Daedalus3


Mainly because the infrastructure is already in place for projectile based explosive munitions..
WE should see an improvemnt over the current projectiles in terms of their warhead payloads/capabilities..Maybe "smart" dispersion/detonation type weaps
Laser weaponry also is not "explosive" in nature..
Its just extremely penetrable..
Explosive warheads pack more of a punch..
But lasers will be useful for "point defense" mechanisms like

I c what u mean, but Lasers not explosive? hmm, makes sense I guess. Yeah, I heard bout "smart dispoersion/detonation type weaps", so it makes even more sense. Tnx

[edit on 27-7-2005 by SEAL Trident]

If efficient batteries can be designed for small arms lasers capable of killing, they have advantage over kinetic weapons in almost every area

- no recoil
- perfect accuracy
- "muzzle velocity" of 3x10^8 m/s (kinetic weapon guns have disadvantage of relatively slow muzzle velocity, which means you have to lead (fire ahead of) the target if it's moving (and that's hard))
- "infinite" "rate of fire" (kinetic weapons fire rounds one by one, you'll have hard time hitting moving targets if you have slow rate of fire. Lasers fire a beam, easier to train on a moving target)
- no projectile motion (kinetic rounds are dragged down by gravity after fired so you end up have to estimate the range and aim up accordingly. A bit hard)
- no sound, no warning

[edit on 27-7-2005 by Taishyou]

Disadvantages as compared to projectile weapons:

1. Powerful wep grade lasers need a MASSIVE assembly and so not suitable for infantry use now and in the near future as well.

2.So assembly and maintenance restrict usage to point defense type stationary weapons.. (not star wars type mobile lasers)

3. AS I mentioned before, no explosive capability (as far as I know) so only effective if targeted at victim's core systems: (propulsion/control/command/weapons/sensors)

4. Very expensive to set up infrastructure for High Power laser manufacture..