In fact, laser weapons are a kind of directed energy weapons. According to different operational purposes, it can be divided into two categories: tactical laser weapons and strategic laser weapons. Among them, tactical laser weapons use laser as energy to directly kill enemy personnel, tanks and planes like conventional weapons, and the strike distance is about 20km. The strategic laser weapon is more like a “big killer” that can attack intercontinental missiles thousands of miles away, as well as reconnaissance satellites and communication satellites in space. It can be said that the high-base high-energy laser pointer weapon is an ideal weapon to seize the advantages of space, so major military powers in the world spare no expense in research and development.
At present, in addition to the United States, countries that develop high-energy laser weapons in the world include Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. The United States has the earliest development history and the highest technical level. It is a well-deserved “leader” in the field of laser weapons. After continuous research and development, the United States has made great progress in laser weapons, including low-energy laser weapons and high-energy laser weapons. Among them, low-energy laser weapons such as “cylinder fish” type laser blinding weapons have long been equipped with troops and emerged in the Gulf War.
The high-energy laser weapons deservedly become the “hands-on” of the US military. Space-based laser weapons are an important component of the long-term global missile defense capabilities of the United States. They can destroy missiles and space satellites in the atmosphere on a global scale. Ground-based anti-satellite laser weapons mainly use high-energy laser to destroy the photoelectric sensing equipment on the satellite. Airborne laser weapon is a green laser pointer weapon for theater defense, which is mainly used to destroy theater ballistic missiles, low-orbit satellites and fighters.
The mission of tactical high-energy laser weapons is to intercept short-range rockets, cruise missiles, anti-radiation missiles and various aircraft. Among them, the more mature one is the US Norge “Sky Guard” mobile tactical high-energy laser air defense weapon system. Successful deployment in countries such as Israel. After long-term technical research and repeated tests, these weapon systems have proved their feasibility as high-energy laser attacks, and some have even been successfully deployed.
Laser weapons may have major applications. The main features of current high-energy laser weapons include: high directional gain, short system response time, and increased threshold for nuclear war. For example, the use of high-energy laser weapons can intercept in the boost section of ballistic missiles, destroy the opposing missile at the speed of light with huge light energy during the boosting phase, and cause the nuclear warhead or biochemical warhead to fall on the opponent’s territory to achieve the maximum damage.