DOW-UAP-D137, AAWSAP DIRD, מצב הידע והתפתחותם של לייזרים בעוצמה גבוהה, מרץ 2010

State of the Art and Evolution of High-Energy Laser
Weapons
Prepared by:
Acquisition Support Division (DW0-3)
Defense Warning Office
Directorate for Analysis
Defense Intelligence Agency
Author:
AAP Person 79
Administrative Note
COPYRIGHT WARNING: Further dissemination of the photographs in this publication is not authorized.
This product is one in a series of advanced technology reports produced in FY 2009
under the Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Warning Office's Advanced Aerospace
Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. Comments or questions pertaining to
this document should be addressed to!AAP Person 1
l AAWSA Program
Manager, Defense Intelligence Agency, ATTN: CLAR/DWO-3, Bldg 6000, Washington,
ii

Contents
Basic Attributes of Kinetic Energy and HEL Weapons ......................................... 1
Beam Control and Atmospheric Propagation of Laser Devices.............................. 12
Figures
Figure 4. Cylindrical Gain Generator for HF Chemical Space Based Laser ............... 5
Figure 5. Common Solid-State Lasers and Their Wavelengths ................................ 6
Figure 6. Incoherent Combination of Single Mode Lasers at the Target.................. 9
iii

Figure 7. Incoherent Combination of Single Mode Lasers in a Fiber Combiner ....... 9
Figure 9. Elements of the 2 kW FEL at Thomas Jeffereson National Accelerator
Figure 10. HEL Weapon Basic Tracking and Pointion Controls .............................. 14
Figure 12. Typical Atmospheric Absorption and Scattering in the Infrared .......... 16
Figure 17. The Advanced Tactical Laser C-130 Aircraft......................................... 20
Figure 18. Single Pulse Maximum Permissible Exposure ...................................... 22
Tables
iv

UNCLASSIFIED/f FOA OFFI€il.t.k YSE &P•tv
State of the Art and Evolution of High-Energy Laser
Weapons
Summary
The laser was invented in 1960, only 49 years ago, and (along with the light­
emitting diode) has evolved into an essential part of our modern every-day life
in ways that could not have been foreseen. On the military side, there have
also been incredible advances in laser and beam control technologies but no
deployment of any high-energy weapons. Many concepts have been developed
and pursued, only to be discarded or deferred owing to technical immaturity,
expected production cost, lack of apparent utility, or logistics concerns.
The most significant technical impediment to deployment may have been the
large quantities of expensive and hazardous chemicals that were required by
the only available high-average-power lasers. This is now changing with
recent advances in electrically powered lasers (both solid-state and free­
electron lasers). As these devices mature over the next few decades, they will
enable practical military weapons at power levels ranging from kilowatts to
megawatts. This evolution may be somewhat slowed or limited in the United
States if there are policy concerns about the use of new types of weapons or
about…