Friday, August 18, 2023

The next step for laser weapon research

  The next step for laser weapon research 


The thing that breaks the glass on a cold table is fast temperature change. The thing that makes the next-generation laser weapons more effective than ever before. The system can use lasers to warm up targets. And then the system can use Bose-Einstein condensates to cause temperature changes. The fast decrease in temperature can break the structure. 

Laser weapons are tools that can be effective against drone swarms. And this is why investments in that technology are rising. 

The thing that destroys objects is the end of the energy pump. The idea is this: energy that is pumped into objects starts to travel into their environment, and that thing rips material into pieces. Laser rays pump extra energy into the target, and that energy forms a high-energy point where energy waves start to travel to the edge of the material. If the impulse is high enough, the expanding wave takes atoms and molecules with it.

In the most powerful systems, the laser beam should create a bubble around the object. First, regular lasers will heat the object. And if the energy level of those pulses is high enough, that thing could make a warp bubble around the object.



"In the Basel experiment, a laser beam is directed onto a membrane (square in the middle). Using the reflected laser light, delayed by a fiber optic cable (violet), the membrane is then cooled down to less than a thousandth of a degree above absolute zero. Credit: University of Basel, Department of Physics" (ScitechDaily.com/Approaching Absolute Zero: Scientists Use Lasers To Cool Small Membrane)


The next-generation laser weapon could be a combination of laser weapons and regular missiles. First, the laser makes objects very hot. And then the rocket will shoot Bose-Einstein condensate around the object. That thing makes energy flow out of those objects very fast, breaking their structure.

Researchers used laser rays to decrease the temperature of one small plate. Maybe laser rays can also shoot through fullerene balls. That system can make it possible to create lots of Bose-Einstein condensate. And the modern laser weapon can operate that laser to heat objects. Then the system will shoot Einstein-Bose condensate in the form of fullerene balls to the route of those flying objects.

The most effective solutions are in situations where the system creates around the high-temperature objects a very low-energy area. And then that area pulls energy out of the object very quickly.


There are two versions of the model showing how a laser weapon should give energy to its target.


One is a high-power laser impulse that is given once. Or multiple, lower-energy laser impulses are given to the target. The problem with a laser weapon is that its energy level cannot be too high, or the laser element will overheat.

One of the ways to increase the power of a laser weapon is to conduct Bose-Einstein condensate around the targeted object. This process will be done using a two-stage model. The first laser system pumps energy into the targeted object. 

And then the Bose-Einstein condensate will be released around the heated object. This thing should make energy travel out of the object very fast. In that case, energy travels out of the object very quickly. And that energy flow breaks the material structure in the object. 


https://breakingdefense.com/2023/08/laser-weapons-finally-seeing-real-progress-missile-defense-agency-official-says/

https://scitechdaily.com/approaching-absolute-zero-scientists-use-lasers-to-cool-small-membrane/



Why have Russian Ka-52 "Alligator" helicopters failed in Ukraine?

Why have Russian Ka-52 "Alligator" helicopters failed in Ukraine?


Many Russian Ka-52 "Alligator" helicopters are shot down over Ukraine. That helicopter should be the competition for the AH-64 Apache and other Western military helicopters. But big losses in Ukraine caused a re-estimation of the use of that helicopter.

One reason for those losses is that the Ka-52 is a very common combat helicopter in Russian forces. One of the reasons why Ka-52 turned into a flop can be that their crews were not trained as they should. And a lack of training causes those losses.

But one of the biggest reasons for Alligator failure can be attributed to a lack of trusted "fire and forget" weapons. If Ka-52 uses rockets aiming at those weapons takes longer time and forces the helicopter to fly straight ahead. The reason why Ka-52 was successful in Syria was there was no heavy AA or lightweight smart missiles. The Ka-52 could hover outside the enemy fire and use its firepower. 

The regular anti-tank missile that is used in those Ka-52 helicopters uses semi-active laser homing. The pilot or gunner sees the target and locks the laser on it. And then the anti-tank weapon called "9K121 Vikhr" rides to the target with that laser. 

The system should be immune to countermeasures, but the weakness is that the helicopter cannot move at all, at least horizontally. The laser system requires a gyroscopic system that keeps it aimed at the target. Without that system the helicopter is vulnerable. 

Or the missile loses contact with the laser ray. Or if the pilot makes some maneuver, the laser ray turns away from the target. If the helicopter hovers in a stable position for about 10–60 seconds, that makes it a good target for any AA system. Because aircraft that use semi-active radar-homing missiles cannot make escape and evasion movements before the missile hits the target, they are vulnerable.

Ka-52 c. 2015



Vikhr missile transport and launching tubes (Wikipedia/9K121 Vikhr)

There is an investigation into the possibility of using semi-active laser homing in Western helicopters. In those applications, the helicopter cooperates with quadcopters or some other drones.

The laser in the helicopter marks a point for the quadcopter that points a laser spot on the target. Then helicopters shoot missiles that can use the quadcopter's laser spot to aim themselves at targets. Or in some other versions, the helicopter drops a quadcopter at the same moment as a missile.

And the missile rides on the laser beam that was shot from the remote-controlled quadcopter. That kind of system gives old-fashioned systems their trusted fire-and-forget ability. In some visions, old-fashioned wire-guided missiles can cooperate with drones like quadcopters. In that system, those control wires will be installed under the quadcopter.

Then the operator of that weapon can use a quadcopter as a launch platform. Another operator can control the flight of that missile by giving it a control signal through the quadcopter. So the remotely controlled unit of wire-guided missiles that is installed below the quadcopter can give that old-fashioned weapon fire-and-forget ability.

The image-based fire-and-forget ability makes the Javelin missiles superior. Because Javelin uses a modified face recognition system (AI-based IIR, or imaging infrared), that missile is hard to jam. Image-homing missiles are hard to jam by using flares.

But optical AI-based image-homing systems have replaced those laser systems. Those systems are used in the Javelin and Maverick missiles. Also, guided bombs can use this type of target designator. In those systems, lasers mark the target for missiles. And when a helicopter shoots a target, it can start to make counter maneuvers against missiles and other hostile fire.


https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-destroying-russia-ka-52-helicopters-mobile-artillery-expert-2023-8?r=US&IR=T

https://defence-blog.com/ukrainian-forces-shoot-down-russian-ka-52-attack-helicopter-2/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9K121_Vikhr


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