Battle 100-kilowatt laser Northrop Grumman. Almost portable
March 21, 2009, 4:18 pm
The program to create scalable components for a compact laser weapons, the company Northrop Grumman announced release of a new solid state electric laser power exceeding 105 kW. Despite the fact that many practical problems in the application of military laser weapons can be reached at power 25 - 50 kW, for the first time in practice, over 100 kW barrier, which is traditionally regarded as the principal foreign countries to achieve the weapons power levels of high-energy lasers. As an individual unit system used in laser amplifier chains, each of which generates a beam power of about 15 kW. As a result of the seven chains have set the laser beam with a total capacity of 105, 5 kW. Record power laser system is incorporated into the final demonstration of the system in the phase 3 program of the U. S. military on the development of powerful solid-state lasers (JHPSSL, Joint High Power Solid State Laser, Phase 3). The list of accomplishments includes registered full power for the time 0, 6 seconds, and duration of the system for more than five minutes with electrooptical efficiency at 19, 3%, and focusing the beam by a factor of more than 3. 0. In addition, when testing the laser has also demonstrated a maximum duration of work for more than 85 minutes at a power of 100 kW. The program JHPSSL Phase 3 company Northrop Grumman is rapidly improving its solid laser:a way of achieving the power of 15, 3 kW was reported in March, a level of 30 kW - in September last year. The main advantage of its development project managers call it a block design that provides a flexible system scalability, including total capacity of more than 100 kW. The press release stresses that the walls of the company in practice has already tested the system with 8 laser chains with total capacity of up to 120 kW. Solid-state lasers Northrop Grumman will be used to create a combat systems and missile defense systems, air, sea and land-based. Judging by the size, the system also could be based on board the aircraft.
