There is a cottage industry forming to thwart the twin threats of unexploded bombs and intentionally placed IEDs—by convincing the Pentagon to use long-range lasers in the warzone. Boeing, always at the forefront of a lucrative market niche, has mounted a solid-state direct-energy beam that can explode bombs in the clear before they can take out a convoy. And if the proving-ground footage we’ve been checking out is any indication, this zapper is definitely showing potential.
Late last month, Boeing conducted a series of tests at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama with a 1-kw laser mounted on the back of a converted anti-aircraft Humvee. Shooting an invisible beam just a few centimeters in diameter and 20 times hotter than an electric stovetop, the laser burned a hole through the casing of artillery and mortar rounds, detonating them more or less instantly. (As for bystanders, all bets are off.)
Boeing engineers also took the time to carve up a pair of grounded unmanned aerial vehicles (pictured below), hoping to promote the idea that laser-powered weaponry can be used in anti-aircraft and someday even missile defense. The company developed the Laser Avenger in just eight months as part of an ongoing effort “to show that directed energy weapons are relevant to today's battlefield and are ready to be fielded.”
