"Unlocking the Future: Emerging Technologies Set to Revolutionize Everyday Life"

"Unlocking the Future: Emerging Technologies Set to Revolutionize Everyday Life" 

"Unlocking the Future: Emerging Technologies Set to Revolutionize Everyday Life"
Weapons systems have almost always relied on kinetic energy to destroy their targets. From arrows and bullets to electromagnetic rail guns that have a muzzle velocity of 9,800 feet per second, military engineers have been designing their weapons to throw one object at very high speeds in order to destroy other objects. However, new and disruptive battlefield technologies like inexpensive drones and hypersonic missiles have shifted the balance and cost-effectiveness of traditional missile defense systems. And this has forced military engineers to investigate an existing, yet misunderstood weapon: Lasers.  

 

Across air, sea, and land, this futuristic weapon is being developed, tested, and even used operationally. Lasers are being weaponized everywhere, from replacing Israel’s  

Iron Dome system, to protecting commercial cargo planes. But why early laser weapon systems failed and what helped them make a comeback, how this technology could save the military over $100,000 every single time it fires on a target, and how  lasers not only can drop drones out of the sky, but they can also keep them flying with  the help of fish, is not what you think!  

 

One of the primary lessons learned from the war in Ukraine is the rising importance of unmanned weaponized systems. Drones have completely changed the dynamics of war in the air, on land and at sea. They also cost very little. DJI Mavic, the drone that has reshaped the war in Ukraine, costs around $2,000 a piece, and by attaching explosives to them, these drones have become an inexpensive way to destroy multi-million-dollar tanks.  

There are of course existing ways to counter these pesky drones. Classic anti air defense systems rely on precision missile strikes. But launching these weapons can be very expensive. For example, the cheapest of these systems is known as MANPADS.

 

They only need one person to launch and usually use Stinger missiles. However, one Stinger missiles costs an average of $100,000.  

 

Not to mention the larger systems in areas where stingers aren’t available, like the PATRIOT missile which costs on average a staggering $3 million dollars per unit. So how can militaries fix this price asymmetry to avoid spending 3 million dollars to take down a $2000 drone?  

 

Engineers have spent the past years inventing solutions to this problem like anti-drone nets, and radio-frequency drone blasters.  

But none have been as practical an addition to militaries’ layered defense systems as lasers.  

The main goal of using Laser systems is improving a nation’s layered or integrated defense strategy.  

Integrated defense is the use of layered systems of radars, ground and sea-based  

Missile defense systems, and fighter jets, with the main goal of deterring traditional targets.  

Counter rocket, artillery, and C-RAM can also address asymmetric aerial attacks. A system with more layers can respond to a higher variety of threats. However, the new low, slow, and small threats like quad copter drones can poke a hole in a nations’ layered defense systems.  

Cost is an important factor in layered defense systems. And lasers are a powerful solution to this problem. For example, a naval C-RAM unit like this one fires 4,500 rounds per minute.  

It fires multipurpose tracer high explosive rounds, each costing around $27. So, this burst of 3.43 seconds would cost $6,978.  In comparison, that same burst from a 250kW High  

Energy Laser would cost less than 25 cents. As an added bonus, you never even have to reload.  

Lasers also add effectiveness to a layered defense system. They are more precise, require less logistical support, and reduce risk of collateral damage.  

But where are weaponized lasers being used today?  

Laser weapons systems are also known as directed-energy weapons. Their first ever use was credited to Archimedes all the way back in 212 B.C. when he used mirrors with an adjustable focal point to redirect sunlight onto invading Roman ships and set them on fire.  

 

Lasers reappeared during President Reagan's era with the proposal of Star Wars program.  

This aimed to use orbiting laser-equipped satellites to intercept Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles, but the technology wasn't ready at the time, and the plan never took off.  

More recently, the US congress has identified Directed Energy weapons as “technology that could have a significant impact on U.S. national security in the years to come”. The US, as well as a handful of other nations including Germany, France, the UK, Israel, Russia and China have been testing these weapons systems for the  past decade, and are integrating them into their land, sea and air capabilities . But how have these systems evolved to what we see today?  

Early versions of laser weapons systems are known as chemical lasers, since they obtain their energy from a chemical reaction. These were some of the most powerful laser systems available, but took up a lot of space. The YAL-1 was one of these systems. Fully operational in 2010, it was a large chemical laser mounted on the nose of a Boeing 747 capable of taking out missiles with its beam.  

However, the system took up the airplane’s entire cargo bay and cost over $2 billion dollars, which is why it was judged impractical and unaffordable and was discontinued in 2011. Some military and even civilian and cargo planes were fitted with smaller, less powerful electric lasers called Directed Infrared Countermeasures. This method uses a laser, not to directly destroy an incoming missile, but to confuse its guidance system.  

 

By pulsing the laser, the missile loses track of its target, leading it off course. Process requires a pod setup which is usually mounted under the fuselage. A missile warning system detects the missile, directs a turret with an IR camera, and once the missile is tracked, the laser fires, disrupting the missile. Today, electric lasers have taken center stage thanks to advancements in technology. These systems are far more compact and scalable compared to chemical lasers. In other words, their power output can go much higher without needing their size to increase, and they are called HEL, high energy lasers. On land, these systems are being developed by military contractors like Raytheon for protection against short-range aerial threats like RAMs and also new and dangerous LSS targets like swarms or drones. These systems are modular and can generate up to 50kW of power, melting polymer plastic drones in seconds. At sea, the Compact Laser Weapons System, or CLaWS has been fitted onto American Naval ships since 2014. Their power output is classified, but is estimated to be anywhere from 50kW to somewhere in the megawatts, and its range far outshines Raytheon’s modular HEL.  

 

Operating both of these laser systems is incredibly easy to learn, using XBox like controllers to aim, lock on and fire at targets.  Although they cost over 5 times the price of a traditional Counter-RAM unit, the long-term spending on these systems will decrease over time. They may be far more technologically advanced and therefore harder to manufacture, but having much less moving parts and  no physical ammunition means much lower logistical costs, and much more accurate shots. But lasers aren’t only used to kill drones.  

 

They’re also used to train them, using fish! Fish swim in schools, which are large groups that come together to form a sort of cloud, or you could even call it a swarm. Here, lasers are used to track and stimulate certain fish to see how a change in behavior in some of them leads to a change in behavior in the whole group.  

Scientists then measure these changes and create AI models based on this behavior to train drone swarms to move more like a group of living animals. This allows them to navigate new or unknown areas using only the movement of the larger group and without needing a full knowledge of the area. The fish basically teach drones how to be more independent. But this research is still in early stages, so how do swarms of drones today know how to navigate autonomously? That answer also lies in lasers; 3D mapping lasers. 3D laser mapping has recently been used to scan entire ships.  

DARPA is using this same tech to scan large buildings and entire urban environments to train drone swarms to navigate them with the help of machine learning. This program is called OFFSET.

It starts by mapping an area to create a digital version of it. These 3D LiDAR scanners take up to 1 million photos per second, creating a very precise virtual landscape. Human swarm commanders then use VR headsets to view environments and control simulated drones to set a mission plan.

Then, the drones get to work, using a mix of AI-driven swarm tactics and human command.  

The OFFSET system shows advanced swarm behavior inspired by nature, like collective decision making, adaptive formation flying and self-healing.  

Drone operations are limited by how much charge their battery holds. Of course, drones can find their way back to a charging station, where they recharge and are then brought back to the surface to fly again. But thanks to lasers, drones could soon charge up while underway, without ever having to return to a charging station.  

Power beaming consists of a laser shining light onto a photovoltaic receiver that is tuned to the wavelengths of lasers.  These receivers can achieve 1.5 to 2.5 times greater efficiency when using laser light compared to sunlight.  

Engineers at the US Naval Research Laboratory have been testing this technology since 2017.  

 

This project initially started by delivering energy to submarine drones through optical cables, but soon evolved to open-air power transfers. The system was able to deliver over 400 watts of power indoors to a receiver over a 1000 feet away. Although this may not seem like much, it proved the system to be safe, and scalable. Finally, they were able to do an outside test with a receiver that was small and light enough to be place on a UAV. This method of transferring energy without having to move mass is revolutionary. For example, it would reduce the infrastructure needed when setting up forward operations bases, as traditional wiring and fuel transfer mechanisms would become obsolete.  

 

Power beaming is portable, silent, and invisible, and allows for power transfer to areas that are traditionally inaccessible. These elements make it ideal for military applications. But where would all this power come from?  

The issue is that light travels in a straight line, so this technology’s main limitation is line of sight. But what if that was no longer a problem, and we could beam power anywhere on Earth? A new project from the Air Force Research Laboratory called the Space Solar Power  

Incremental Demonstrations and Research Project or SSPIDER could do exactly this from orbit. This project aims to use satellites to collect energy from the sun and beam that energy down directly to receivers on Earth. This could further eliminate the need for power infrastructure, making local power generators and fuel convoys obsolete. The cherry on top is that this technology could also be used for civilian infrastructures around the world. But what happens when that beam hits the wrong  area? Well, your guess is as good as mine!