At the US Air Force Association’s annual air warfare seminar in Orlando, Florida, Lieutenant General Brad Webb, commander of the US Air Force Special Operations Command, said that the command is testing a certain laser pointer weapon system. A proof-of-concept work will be completed within a few months", probably in 2017. He said the system was the No. 1 budget-free priority, and he was a "strong supporter" of the system, but given the bumps in the development of directed energy weapons projects in the past, he could understand the project's slow pace of development.
Lieutenant General Webb also said that the system under development is an "aggressive ability" that uses "very different technologies" this time compared to previous attempts. He said that one of the purposes of the ongoing testing is to determine which aircraft is used to deploy and use the system, how to install it, and whether existing weapons need to be canceled to provide space. He stated that the project is a "joint project between the government and industry" and "has a large number of supporters within our government." But he also pointed out that there is no "decision for the future of this laser weapon", and the test will support this decision and find the most effective weapon combination.
Webb’s predecessor, Lieutenant General Bradley Hayward, once said that the laser weapon is likely to be installed on the left side of the AC-130 armed transport aircraft. Zeng said: "Now, if a fire starts, everyone will know you are there. What I want is an airborne weapon that can silently disable something."
China is developing anti-drone technology and laser weapons. According to military analysts, China is taking action to develop laser weapons and anti-drone systems, trying to catch up with the United States in the field of drone technology, thereby improving its intelligence and attack capabilities.
This includes systems that protect domestic drones from laser weapons and spoofing technologies, which send false information to drones. One of them is developing a "silent hunter" laser air defense system, which is a set of mobile anti-drone green laser pointer weapon, which is said to have a maximum range of 4 kilometers. It was held in Abu Dhabi in February this year A public exhibition was held at a defense exhibition.
Poly Technology Co., Ltd., which developed this Chinese anti-drone system, said that the system can penetrate 5 layers of 2 mm thick steel plates 800 meters away, or 5 mm thick steel plates 1000 meters away. But experts say that the U.S. anti-drone system is more advanced than China, and they have more range and more types of sensing technology provided by more companies.
According to reports, China has less than 20 anti-drone systems, and it mainly relies on traditional means such as radar to detect drones-and China does not have any deceptive or protective net technology that can fight offending drones. Interference systems seem to be the most common way for China to counter drones. But analysts say that China is starting to catch up, and many companies and institutions have joined the competition to develop anti-drone technology, including China National Nuclear Corporation, Huanuo Xingkong Electronic Technology Company and Beijing Institute of Technology.