Fighter Jets Get Laser Weapons (in 2023)

The first laser ray gun was fictionalized in the 1898 novel War of the Worlds and as a result, energy weapons have been staples of science fiction armories ever since. There are endless permutations of sci-fi energy weapons, be it a phaser, ray gun, light saber, plasma gun, pulse rifle, or even sharks with frikkin' laser beams attached to their heads, but the concept is generally the same--weapons that discharge high energy projectiles or beams instead of bullets, and generally make a pew, zap, or similar onomatopoeic sound.

There have been no less than a dozen attempts at creating and implementing a laser weapon for use against enemies on the battlefield, but outside of one rigged up on a Navy ship, lasers are mostly used to disorient enemies and designate airstrike targets. Even though we've heard promises of laser weapons before, the U.S. military recently announced plans to have fully functional, lethal laser weapons systems mounted on aircraft by 2023.

The benefits of laser technology over conventional weapons systems are clear. There is no physical ammunition to reload, which is easier and more cost effective. Lasers travel much faster than bullets or missiles and can be precision aimed. Energy weapons can also be powered up or down to vary the lethality of shots, and targets can be neutralized without creating an explosion.

In recent years, the U.S. Army and Air Force have been studying the technology of Boeing's High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD). The HEL MD is a 10 kW solid state laser mounted on an Oshkosh that produces a beam about the width of a dime and can hit targets from miles away. In tests last year, the HEL MD proved capable of eliminating 150 mortar rounds and UAVs in foggy and rainy weather. The U.S. Army believes it can use this system as part of an active defense against incoming aerial threats, while the Air Force intends to mount the HEL MD on a fighter to provide anti-missile defense. Lasers are sometimes used to confuse the navigation of anti-aircraft laser-guided missiles, but the HEL MD would actually destroy the missile before it got too close.

The first in-air tests are expected to start in 2021, and will most likely be outfitted on an adaptable fighter such as the F-15. Implementing the HEL MD on the F-22 Raptor or F-35 Lighting II, America's next generation fighters, isn't possible because it would sacrifice some of their respective stealth capabilities.

Eventually the Air Force wants to install a more powerful HEL MD system on an AC-130 gunship plane for offensive missions. The final goal is to have a scaled 300 kW system for engaging offensive targets from very long distances from a fighter platform, and then eventually on a drone platform.

Of course, the single biggest challenge for the growing role of the HEL MD is the power generation, especially if the system is going to be used on combat aircraft, where every component must meet aerospace standards and be essential. Air Force Chief Scientist Greg Zacharias said that much of the development work on the HEL MD over the next few years would be reducing the complexity of the system to make it airworthy, which ultimately means compromises between the size, weight and power of the weapon system.

Unfortunately, this does not make bombs or missiles obsolete, at least any time soon. Lasers still require line-of-sight aiming, something a guided missile does not. The power required to destroy a tank with a laser is sublime--it's just not possible now or soon.

This makes lasers another tool in the military tool chest, and less the coming of age of directed energy weapons. Still, we get ever closer to the light sabers, phasers, and sharks with lasers.