China’s New Laser Weapons Pose Major Threat to US
The US military tried out these weapons in the field, and some of them were even able to destroy supersonic missiles. However, because the lasers were so big and heavy, they were never used again.
China’s military has asserted that it has made a significant advancement in the field of energy weapons technology. According to a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report, researchers at Changsha’s National University of Defence Technology claim to have created a cutting-edge cooling system that would enable high-energy lasers to be continuously powered up without overheating. This means that weapons can fire laser beams for as long as they like, which experts say could completely alter the nature of warfare.
According to the Chinese research team that created the cooling system, it completely eliminates the harmful heat that is produced when high-energy lasers are in operation.
In a paper published on August 4 in Acta Optica Sinica, a Chinese-language peer-reviewed journal, laser weapon scientist Yuan Shengfu was quoted by SCMP as saying that this represents a significant advancement in the performance of high-energy laser systems.
The problem of cooling has been a significant technical barrier to the development of laser weapons.
Furthermore, the United States has been working to develop advanced laser systems. The Space-Based Laser (SBL), Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL), Middle Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser (MIRACL), and Navy Advanced Chemical Laser (NACL) are among them.
The US military tested these weapons in the field, and some of them even destroyed supersonic missiles, but they were scrapped due to the weight and size of the lasers.
Even though they had a limited range of a few kilometers, Yuan’s team claimed to have increased the destructive power of a laser beam.
Therefore, experts are closely monitoring changes in the area.
Steve Weaver, a former British military official, wrote on X, which used to be Twitter, “If they have solved the heating and distortion problems as they say they have, in a (relatively) small enough unit to be deployed, this is a big step forward, especially when you look at how the US has failed in this area.”
Due to its quick rechargeability and lack of expensive munitions, the new system has the potential to be more affordable than conventional missile-based systems. According to the outlet, China also intends to use laser weapons against satellites like Starlink from SpaceX, if necessary.
How does the laser operate?
A unique form of artificially produced light, according to NASA, is a laser. It generates a light beam that is very focused and whose light waves are all very similar in wavelength.
The light waves from the laser move forward simultaneously, with their peaks all being in phase. Due to this special characteristic, laser beams are extremely bright, focused, and narrow.
They are able to move over great distances and focus a lot of energy on a small area.
To give the molecules more energy, a beam is created through a gain medium, like a crystal or gas. When a laser travels through the air, it heats the gas in its path and induces turbulence.
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The beam may scatter and deform due to this turbulence, which will lessen its precision and efficacy.
