Although laser weapons are not yet mature enough, they have shown outstanding advantages after testing and actual combat: first of all, high speed. As a weapon, laser pointer is used to destroy the target with a high-power laser beam. It launches at the speed of light of 300,000 kilometers per second. No existing moving targets such as aircraft, missiles, ships, and vehicles have such a high speed. Speed advantage is a prerequisite for the victory of laser weapons.
The second is high precision. Having the speed of light means that there is no need to consider the advance of the attack, that is, once the laser weapon is aimed at the target, it can be destroyed directly. There is also high performance. Laser weapons can concentrate the energy of more than 1 million times that of nuclear weapons in a very short period of time, and then gather and launch them into a very small area of the target body to destroy them in an instant.
At the same time, the laser weapon has a short reaction time and can change direction very flexibly to block low-altitude targets that are suddenly discovered. When using laser to block multiple targets, it can quickly change the shooting target and flexibly deal with multiple targets. Then there is low cost. Traditional naval artillery shells and missiles cost tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to launch. However, if a laser weapon is installed on a warship that can generate hundreds of kilowatts of electricity, the cost per launch is less than $1, and as long as the power supply is sufficient , You can continuously provide this kind of cheap "ammunition."
Started early in laser research, with a high level of technology, and has always been in the forefront. In addition, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany are also stepping up the development of various types of green laser pointer weapons. After the continuous research and development of various military powers, laser weapons have developed greatly. The research and development fields include low-energy laser weapons, medium-energy laser weapons, and high-energy laser weapons.
Although laser weapons have highlighted many advantages in the development and testing, they have also exposed many defects. In addition to the high development cost, it also shows many shortcomings and deficiencies such as large size, low power, high energy consumption, short launch distance, and large impact on weather conditions. This is also an important reason why laser weapons have been developed for a long time but have not been deployed.