Monitoring Desk
WASHINGTON: The Airborne High Energy Laser (AHEL) has received the first prototype of the Airborne High Energy Laser (AHEL), which is due to be flight tested next year on the AC-130J Ghostrider. The developers believe that AHEL will be able to hit targets “instantly and silently.” The military observer of Gazeta.Ru Mikhail Khodarenok was familiar with the capabilities of the combat laser.
Lockheed Martin said it had completed factory acceptance tests of AHEL and handed over the weapons to the US Air Force. Now the laser must be integrated with the control system, after which ground tests will be carried out, and then the system is supposed to be installed on the AC-130J aircraft. “The technology is ready for combat use,” said Rick Cordaro, Vice President of Lockheed Martin.
It is unclear exactly when flight tests of the AHEL-equipped AC-130J could begin, but the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) has consistently stated that it expects to begin this phase of the project in 2022.
As for the rated power of AHEL, this is not specifically mentioned in the press release of the Lockheed Martin corporation, but again, SOCOM management has repeatedly stated that AHEL will be in the 60 kilowatt class.
This is in line with Lockheed Martin’s own claims that its directed-energy aviation weapons are “in the same class” as the HELIOS laser weapons they supply to the US Navy.
Earlier it was reported that the HELIOS (High Energy Laser) and the Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance system belong to the 60 kilowatt class. At the same time, information was announced that the manufacturer is striving to increase the capacity of the system to a class of 150 kilowatts. Other sources suggest that HELIOS has a capacity of about 100 kilowatts.
High-energy, combat-ready laser weapons would be extremely valuable if they performed as advertised. Weapons of this type, the developers say, can hit many different targets. Moreover, to do this in such a way that opponents may not even know that they are being attacked until it is too late.
In one scenario, described by former Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) Lieutenant General Brad Webb, an AC-130J aircraft, armed with a high-energy laser, could be used to locate and destroy electrical transformers, communications equipment and drones at airfield parkings.
“Without any whistle, bump, explosion, or even the hum of an aircraft engine, the targets will be permanently incapacitated. The enemy will not have communications, evacuation, electricity, reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities. In a few minutes the enemy will surrender, ”General Webb explained.
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This is not the first time the US Air Force has experimented with this concept. Various tests were carried out in the 1990s and 2000s that demonstrated the potential value of installing a laser weapon system on an AC-130 aircraft. Various technical issues, including the size and weight of the Chemical Oxygen-Iodine Laser (COIL), as well as the power consumption and cooling requirements of the device, have limited the ability of COIL to become a combat-ready system.
The key breakthrough was the emergence of solid-state lasers, which are much more compact and lighter than previous chemical lasers. They do not require the bulky and power-hungry cooling systems of their predecessors, and the problems with beam steering have largely been resolved.
“Even with the limited destructive power of the combat laser, the crews of the fire support planes have the opportunity to destroy targets on the battlefield while remaining invisible to the enemy. This is ideal for Special Forces operations, or simply helps wreak havoc and confusion among enemy forces by shutting down critical infrastructure, ”says Lockheed Martin.
At the same time, at present it remains unclear what the destructive capabilities of this weapon are when influencing the enemy’s personnel. Officially, the Pentagon does not speak about this, but independent experts and former military personnel do not exclude the use of a laser against people.
“It looks like science fiction from books and films, but I think that the United States will be able to destroy enemy soldiers with a laser. From afar and quietly, ”said former SOCOM commander Admiral Eric Olso, a member of the Mission Essential Personnel Advisory Board at the Air Force Association’s annual Air, Space and Cyberspace conference this September.
Courtesy: (gazeta.ru)
