The UK says it conducted a 'groundbreaking' trial of a laser beam weapon that can neutralize targets for $0.12 a shot
- The UK said it test-fired a laser beam weapon in a "groundbreaking" trial.
- The Ministry of Defence said it could neutralize targets for just $0.12 a shot.
- Countries are racing to develop weapons that can combat drones and missiles.
https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-says-tested-laser-beam-weapon-multiple-targets-neutralize-drones-2024-7Open linkView original on lemmy.world200
Comments46
The U.K.? This is not a good sign... you know what this usually means...
I miss 9 every day 😭
EXTERMINATE. ANNIHILATE.
Btw, what is that supposed to be?
a Dalek.
Well now you ruined the surprise.
Billie is no Jenna Coleman, but she's still cute.
I would let 90% of the entire cast run a train on me.
The kill to cost-savings ratio on this is amazing. We can kill so many for so little!
Leaving so much room for activities!
The new Ford class carriers have a nuclear reactor in them that outputs about 2x as much power as the ship actually needs. If/when these are ready for prime time, prepare or some raves on the flight deck!
The USN already has two or three active DEW systems deployed and the next generation, HELCAP, is in testing now.
https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/sea-air-space-2024/2024/04/us-navy-readies-300-kw-helcap-laser-system-for-intercept-tests/
This will be used against drones and missiles. Does make me wonder what the cost per bullet is for militaries though
I know, I know, Quora, but this seems properly researched.
$0.23 for a round of 5.56, $0.76 for a round of 7.62. Ish.
Keep in mind, too, that lasers fire in about as straight a line as you can hope for, while bullets do not. It's going to take a lot more bullets fired to neutralize a target than laser "rounds" fired.
And laser rounds have a velocity of the speed of light, so it's pretty hard to miss if you have a perfect sight on the target
I was thinking about potential for inaccuracy due to refraction from thermal inversion layers or other temperature anomalies, but then I realized that the refraction would equally affect the optics, provided that the optics remain on target throughout the firing.
If I was designing a laser weapons system, I would probably include a targeting laser that would be of the same wavelength, and use that to automatically correct any alignment. A targeting laser, or series of lasers would require extremely tiny amounts of power compared to firing the laser weapon.
In that case, when WW3 hits I guess I’ll use my toilet tank lid for armor
Stylish and protected, nice combo
Yeah... those figures might be outdated. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't 5.56 basically the same as a .223? If so Cabellas has them in a price range of $.60-$2.20/pc. Not that the price difference is what I'm correcting. What I intended to point out was that just because you can get ammo for $.23 doesn't mean your actual cost is guna be $.23/pc. In my experience with cheap ammo you're guna have at least 1 jammed per magazine on your best days. Unlike most things, you get what you pay for with ammo. I have 3 types of ammo for my AR. 1 cheap bulk box for making it rain lead at the range. 1 mid ranged box for actual use shooting coyotes, beavers and Coons. And the last ammo type are closer to the $2.20/pc price for when there is ever a scenario where I need to send 2 bullets through the same bullet hole from 500yds out. Lol half kidding but for real the bullet to bullet consistency for weight and concentricity of the $2.20 priced ammo to the .60 priced ammo is clear as day.
Read the link. Those were rough prices for the military, and the poster admits that the prices are a little out of date. He's not referring to what you'd pay at a sporting goods store.
Did you even read my post or did you stop at the 5th word lol.
I read the whole thing about how much ammo costs at retail for an individual consumer.
I can guarantee you're not coming close to the bulk buy per-item discount the military gets
Cruise missiles are usually shot down with interceptor missiles, which are a lot more expensive.
Woooooo! Death Ray! Yeah!
For a less than you pay for a cup of coffee, you can evaporate 10 or even 50 people!
Can it be put on a shark?
On its head, specifically?
No sharks, but perhaps sea bass
Slightly ticked off.. or no deal
defeated by fog, cloud cover.
Or a mirror
There has already been work clearing clouds with lasers.
https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/28317
https://airbornescience.nasa.gov/content/Retrievals_of_Thick_Cloud_Optical_Depth_from_the_Geoscience_Laser_Altimeter_System_GLAS_by
IR and UV both seem to penetrate clouds, but I can't say if they will retain their focus as a directed beam.
Wasn't there this YouTuber that made a laser mosquito trap? It's just a matter of time until that will be used against humans.
that was Bill Gates
my what a savings
So let's not invent a shield that can stop any fast incoming forces using arcane physical effects... Heard that turns out badly
Nah, we definitely need some AT fields.
Well... MW8 will be saddly very boring.
Press F to activate the drone killer automated system
The US has been playing with these kinds of lasers for over a decade now. Last I saw a demonstration, the laser wasn't powerful enough to just zap something. It had to focus on a warhead and heat it up until it exploded. It wouldn't work on a missile in flight. Maybe they improved it, but I suspect the introduction of slow drones like the Iranian Shahed made it feasible.
The cost per shot was pennies a decade ago. But how fast can they shoot these? It must be able to shoot fast and constantly if you want to deal with swarms.
But did it go "Pew pew"?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xNmbvaUzC8Q
Is this where they got the idea?
https://youtu.be/xuv7SIVNkx8?si=llKOVfdJXPmOvWJ7
More likely from here.
Is it called Megiddo?