Cool Tech - Army Getting A Frickin' Laser

The US military has been working on directed energy weapons (lasers and particle beams) for some time. Boeing recently rolled out the High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD)— basically a truck-mounted 10-kilowatt laser — for some successful tests against UAV drones and 60mm mortars rounds.

The test was done in poor weather conditions - windy and foggy - which is important for showing lasers are battlefield ready, both for land and sea use.

One other that power the HEL MD’s laser are charged by a 60 kW diesel generator. So, as long as the generator is fueled, the laser can fire. Given how it is intended to be used - knocking out incoming UAVs, rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds - this essentially unlimited ammo capacity is a great selling point.

The next step for the laser is to up the output 50-60 kilowatts, which is what the military considers a “tactically significant power level.” It will take a few more years of development, but our armed services will soon be fielding weapons that a century ago were the stuff of a Flash Gordon serial. Check out the Boeing promo video below.