The laser can destroy the incoming missile from the front. Eventually, reality will catch up with science fiction step by step. The US military is currently studying the possibility of installing laser weapons on very high-altitude flying drones so that the drones can shoot down ballistic missiles shortly after they are launched. Another additional benefit that the US military will receive from laser weapons is that the laser pointer seems to provide cheap firepower that will never be exhausted.
Unlike conventional artillery that requires ammunition, laser guns are only limited by power. Gunzinger believes that lasers are particularly promising in fighter jets. He said: An aircraft does not have to return to the base to load more weapons. It can refuel in the air, and then continue to use almost unlimited firepower. Before laser technology can be integrated into a fighter, its size must be reduced.
Engineers are currently facing limitations in the areas of how high-power portable lasers can be generated, and how to cool the laser. It is hoped to increase the power of the laser weapon loaded on the truck. Murdoch said: “There will be some engineering constraints. There will be insufficient space… that is the challenge we are dealing with.” However, industry representatives and military officials said that the only obstacle to preventing lasers from gaining widespread operational use It is government funding.
Congress is very cautious. The lawmakers still remember a protracted project that cost more than $5 billion. The project modified a Boeing 747 aircraft to enable it to carry a laser gun that could reasonably shoot down enemy missiles. The project was cancelled in 2012 because of concerns that it may never be operationally feasible. The laser beam used in this project is generated by chemicals, so it is not powerful enough to shoot down the missile.
The pulse width of almost all picosecond lasers is between 2ps and 20ps. Some lasers have pulse widths of a few hundred picoseconds, but these green laser pointers are debatable in most applications. In fact, a large part of this pulse width range is called the “death valley” because the interaction and performance of the materials are quite poor-certainly as bad as using a nanosecond laser, and in many cases, the quality is even worse. So when discussing picosecond lasers, one should refer to lasers with pulse widths below 20 ns (may be as long as 50 ns, but no longer).