High Power Lasers in Military Applications

Abstract

Digital Object Identifier 10.32754/JMT.2019.1.10 53 1Abstract—This paper presents briefly a piece of military equipment designed to detect and destroy different targets such as missiles using a laser beam for detection and another for deactivation. The general name for this equipment is Laser Weapon System (LaWS). The LaWS is a ship-defense system that has so far publicly engaged different targets like drones, small ships or missiles. LaWS uses an infrared beam from a solid-state laser array which can be tuned to high output to destroy the target or low output to warn or cripple the sensors of a target. The low cost per shot it is an advantage, as each firing of the weapon requires only the minimal cost of generating the energetic pulse.