Recently, according to US media reports, the US Special Operations Command installed a high-energy laser weapon on an AH-64 Apache gunship, and successfully completed attack tests under various flight conditions, realizing the laser weapon on the rotorcraft The first deployment. So, what kind of weapon is the laser pointer known as "Death Ray"? How far is it from militarization?
From daily life to militarization. The laser itself is not mysterious. It is another important research achievement of mankind after nuclear energy, computers, and semiconductors since the 20th century. Through the combination of multiple disciplines, it has formed the application of technology in many fields. From bar code scanners in supermarkets, laser printers, laser pens, and data discs to laser surgery and industrial laser ranging and welding in hospitals, lasers have long been closely related to people's daily lives and provide a lot of convenient services.
However, like all advanced technologies, lasers have inevitably attracted the attention of all countries in the military field. In the 1970s, the invention of laser guidance technology greatly improved the accuracy of bomb hits. Inspired by this, various military powers in the world have invested a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources into the development of laser weaponization, hoping to equip the country's war machines with "dead fangs."
During the Cold War that broke out in the last century, both the United States and the Soviet Union attached great importance to the actualization of laser weapons and accelerated the development of laser weapons. In 1983, the Reagan Administration of the United States put forward the "Star Wars" plan, demonstrating the desire and ambition of superpowers to apply lasers to national military weapons and equipment. The purpose is to deploy large laser weapons in space orbits against enemy satellites and missiles. , Ships, and even ground fortresses strike precisely, and this has become the classic bridge section of countless subsequent science fiction movies.
The method of attack is unique. The laser weapon is a new concept weapon that uses high-energy beams to replace conventional chemical warheads for physical and electronic damage. It is a directional energy weapon that uses a high-energy red laser pointer beam emitted in a certain direction to directly attack a long-range target. It is mainly composed of a laser that generates a light source and a beam director that has tracking, aiming and launching functions. Attack the target with other destruction methods.