from the anything-you-can-do,-we-can-do-better dept.
[...] that China has developed and successfully tested a highly accurate laser defense system against light drones. The homemade [sic] machine boasts a two-kilometer range and can down "various small aircraft" within five seconds of locating its target.
Boasting high speed, great precision and low noise, the system is aimed at destroying unmanned, small-scale drones flying under an altitude of 500 meters and at speeds below 50 meters per second, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement by one of the developers, the China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP).
A recent test saw the machine successfully bring down over 30 drones - a 100-percent success rate, according to the statement. The laser system is expected to play a key role in ensuring security during major events in urban areas.
The statement is hardly surprising - we reported yesterday that the US Navy is deploying a weapon with a similar role to the Persian Gulf on board the US Ponce.
Related Stories
Ars Technica - US Navy approves first laser weapon for operation aboard Persian Gulf ship
On Wednesday the Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced that it would approve an experimental laser weapon for use on the USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf. The laser weapon system is part of a $40 million research program to test directed energy weapons, and it is the first to be officially deployed and operated on a naval vessel.
Although the laser weapon system is not as powerful as other weapons aboard the Ponce, Christopher Harmer, senior naval analyst with the Institute for the Study of War told The Wall Street Journal that the directed energy of the laser aimed at a target would “cause a chemical and physical disruption in the structural integrity of that target.” Harmer added that the advantage of the laser weapon system is that it can disable many oncoming targets without needing to reload ammunition: “as long as you've got adequate power supply and adequate cooling supply.”
Welcome to the future that Anime promised.
(Score: 3, Funny) by tynin on Friday December 12 2014, @04:21PM
Here is a pic of what it is reported to look like [moddb.com].
(Score: 2) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Friday December 12 2014, @07:35PM
What good are laser weapons against mylar-foil coating? ;-)
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Saturday December 13 2014, @03:39PM
Mylar won't stop all frequencies. Most light is invisible.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 2) by Bot on Friday December 12 2014, @04:36PM
homemade means made in China? that's not newsworthy, everything is made there, nowadays...
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Friday December 12 2014, @07:19PM
Can you picture Wal-Mart in China. "Hey! I made that yesterday!"
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday December 12 2014, @08:46PM
Are you crazy? Chinese workers don't have either the time or the money to go shopping, what with their 16-hour work days for about $0.85 per hour.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday December 12 2014, @04:36PM
Can I get one of these lasers for my car? I promise to only target cellphones, billboards, and the tires of left-lane cruisers...
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 12 2014, @04:50PM
Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just figure out what frequency it's running at and blast it with focused RF noise?
No chance of a stray reflection blinding someone and the craft might even be recoverable later, for evidence or whatnot.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 12 2014, @04:56PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 12 2014, @05:14PM
Could also be possible to interrupt a gps signal, perhaps even easier since there's no need to guess/channel hop the right frequency.
The altimeter might still function and keep it hovering though.
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday December 12 2014, @06:07PM
No, that would do nothing except maybe jam its communications, and even modern civilian communication techniques like those used with cell phones are resistant to noise and other interference. CW (continuous wave) would probably be even less effective unless you knew exactly which frequencies were involved -- unless you were using CW as a fire-control [scmp.com] radar for a projectile(missile), which is the current state anyway.
If you still want results when real threats are concerned, you need highly accurate projectiles. The only way I could see lasers feasibly used against vessels is at close range kinda like the Borg Cutter Beam.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 12 2014, @05:03PM
Will future drones be covered with retroreflectors? [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by zeigerpuppy on Saturday December 13 2014, @01:09AM
That would probably work quite well and is as simple as paint with glass beads in it.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by lizardloop on Friday December 12 2014, @06:50PM
This feels like a new arms race to me. How fast can we build intelligent flying drones that do our dirty work for us vs how fast we can build laser weapons that will shoot them out of the sky. Whoever wins it will be fun to watch!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 12 2014, @08:09PM
Will it?
http://www.thewire.com/politics/2013/10/saddest-words-congresss-briefing-drone-strikes/71048/ [thewire.com]
(Score: 1) by tftp on Friday December 12 2014, @10:50PM
The winner, at this point, would be a drone with a laser cannon built in.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Saturday December 13 2014, @03:42PM
Some of you guys REALLY underestimate how much energy is needed to take out a drone with a laser. The navy only has lasers on its nuclear powered ships.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 13 2014, @08:06AM
Yeah, but you can only watch out of your remaining good eye.
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Sunday December 14 2014, @04:34PM
Is it just a coincidence that this is announced so shortly after a drone had a near miss with an aircraft at an airport?