The laser weapons of the future will stop swarms of land, air, and sea targets with pinpoint precision and the speed-of-light.
“We have all the core pieces now to be able to put together laser weapons systems,” said Rob Afzal, a senior fellow with Lockheed Martin’s Laser and Sensor Systems division in the video below. “Now we can envision complete laser weapons systems that can engage multiple targets at the speed of light, with very deep magazines that can be small enough, powerful enough and capable of being carried on tactical platforms.”
Related: US Air Force fighters drones will fire laser weapons by the 2020s
Lockheed Martin has demonstrated the effectiveness of its lasers with 10 and 30-kilowatt prototypes, stopping small-caliber rockets, UAVs, boats and speeding trucks. Now into its 40 years developing laser weapons, Lockheed Martin is looking to challenge the growing threat of cheap, fast and small drone swarms with its systems.
“Terrorists and other militants can operate small, inexpensive drones loaded with weapons to threaten U.S. and allied forces on the ground,” reported Daniel Miller, chief engineer for High Energy Laser Integration at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works on its website. “Because of their size, these drones are difficult to see, hard to catch on radar, and hard to shoot at with conventional weapons, particularly in swarms.”
These lasers will have the ability to destroy entire terrorist drone swarms instead of one at a time. This video shows the future of Lockheed Martin’s laser weapons program.
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