Laser weapons are installed on the aircraft. Achieve the death turret in the sky. According to reports, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory recently signed a $ 26.3 million contract with Lockheed Martin, which will design, develop and build a high-energy laser pointer system to be equipped on fighter aircrafts by 2021. . At the heart of this system is an improved version of a multi-kilowatt fiber laser.
Coincidentally, some netizens are also open-minded and want to load -20 laser weapons. According to official information, airborne early warning command aircraft, aerial refueling aircraft, and large electronic warfare aircraft can be developed based on the Yun-20 aircraft platform, laying a foundation for improving the information-based air combat system. So, can Yun-20 and other transport aircraft be equipped with airborne laser weapons? To what extent has the current airborne laser weapon developed?
Professor Wang Qun of the National Security and Military Strategic Research Center of the National University of Defense Technology pointed out in an interview with the reporter of Science and Technology Daily: “In theory, it is possible to install airborne green laser pointer weapons on the Yun-20 transport aircraft. Tactical laser weapons have been tested on the 130H transport aircraft. However, the installation of laser weapons on aircraft is a kind of system engineering. It is not simply to put ground lasers on the aircraft. It involves many technologies, and the most important thing is integrated technology. Even the United States There are no actual airborne laser weapons yet, and they are only in the experimental stage. ”
ABL is an important part of the US ballistic missile defense system, designed to intercept and destroy enemy strategic ballistic missiles in the boost phase. In November 1996, the US Army’s ABL program was officially launched, which will install large laser weapon systems on a heavily modified Boeing 747-400F aircraft as part of a missile defense system. However, due to technical and financial reasons, the project has not progressed smoothly.
“At the time, the US military pointed out that although the output power of ABL is very large, reaching megawatts, it is still far from the actual combat requirements. We must know that the weight of this system has reached more than 80 tons, and a substantial increase in power is inevitable. It will greatly increase the volume and weight, which is obviously unrealistic. In addition, ABL is an oxygen-iodine chemical laser, which consumes a lot of chemicals every time it is fired. The medicines it carries can only be fired at most 24 times against large ballistic missiles. . Once a war occurs, it takes 20-30 aircraft to meet a small and medium-sized country to meet the requirements. Since then, the cost is high, which is almost impossible. “Wang Qun said. So at the end of 2011, the US Department of Defense decided to terminate the ABL project.
Tactical laser weapons have become the mainstream. “ABL is a strategic laser weapon, and now the United States is developing more tactical Laser Engraver.” As early as January 2006, Boeing stated that it would retrofit a C-130H transport aircraft under the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) project. Used to carry high-energy chemical lasers and combat management and beam control subsystems, with a focus on military or law enforcement operations in urban or suburban environments. The relevant person in charge of the Boeing Missile Defense System said that ATL will be used for air-to-ground operations and ABL will be used for missile defense, both of which will have a revolutionary impact on the battlefield.