Lockheed touts ABC laser turret

[garyc]

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/lockheed-touts-abc-laser-turret-as-testbed-completes-417943/

Lockheed Martin claims to have overcome a major obstacle to shooting high-power laser weapons from high-speed aircraft, saying it has successfully completed 60 Aero-adaptive Aero-optic Beam Control (ABC) laser turret flight tests over the past year.

The turret uses a green, low-power laser to measure the system’s effectiveness at jet cruise speeds and at different angles off the aircraft.

Lockheed says one of the greatest obstacles to fielding a powerful airborne fibre laser weapon to shoot down enemy aircraft and missiles is maintaining a quality beam through the turbulence around the aircraft while also compensating for atmospheric distortion.

.....

Last month, Lockheed announced the start of production for a 60kW fibre laser for the US Army and revealed that it is even studying laser weapon “concepts” for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Its laser solution uses a "spectral beam combining" technique to combine individual fibre lasers and scale to higher power levels.

In another sign of High-Energy Laser (HEL) technology gaining momentum, the US Air Force Scienctific Advisory Board has been tasked to study the feasibility of operating directed energy weapons from an Air Force Special Operations Command AC-130J Block 60 gunship, including a solid-state slab or fibre lasers and an airborne version of the microwave or “heat ray” weapon known as the Active Denial System (ADS).

....

 

[Arthur]

Soon they'll be ready to invade Mars.

I'm much more curious about the power source.

 

[gregmcc]

Soon they'll be ready to invade Mars.

But Matt Damon is already there!

 

[Arthur]

But Matt Damon is already there!

Yeah. It's all part of softening up. Those rovers are part of the plot.

 

[AstroTurf]

65KW?

I want one for carving low cost housing into mountainsides and unused quarries

 

[flippakitten]

and then Russia and China just started making shiny missiles...

 

[The_Assimilator]

Considering the US want to mount this weapon on the AC-130 gunship, they're probably intending it for use against ground forces, but they could very well be trialling it as an anti-missile weapon, as the AC-130's greatest weakness is that it has no active anti-missile defences. An automated laser anti-missile system would allow AC-130s to operate with impunity in SAM-heavy combat environments, like eastern Ukraine.

and then Russia and China just started making shiny missiles...

It's not quite that simple...

 

[Ninja'd]

Raiden and Gradius here we come

 

[Bern]

Ah, so this is the big market for Tesla Powerwall and the Tesla Deathray...

 

[zippy]

and then Russia and China just started making shiny missiles...

That would then make it easier for more conventional weapons to target and destroy.