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http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/04/plasma_pulse_la.html
Real-Life Laser Rifle: Army Goal
The Army is looking at its Plasma Acoustic Shield System as a checkpoint defender, for now. But the original idea -- and the long-term goal of the project -- is to have it be the first baby step towards a portable, lethal laser weapon.
The effort, by the U.S. Army’s Advanced Energy Armaments Systems Division and Stellar Photonics, has a lot in common with another military laser project: the Pulsed Energy Projectile being developed by Mission Systems for the Marines. But there are three key differences. The current PEP is a big (450 lb) chemical laser with a limited number of shots, whereas PASS is a small solid-state laser that just needs electricity. The PEP creates plasma by ablating the surface it hits (such as your shirt), whereas PASS and create plasma in mid-air by focusing to a point. And PEP fired a single pulse, whereas PASS uses a double pulse which Stellar claim is far more efficient at creating a shockwave.
You can get some idea from the Small Business Initiative Proposal the company submitted in ‘04 for a "Man-portable Integrated Laser Assault Rifle":
These systems would be portable and lightweight; the battery operated solid state laser system would be comparable in size to the Armbrust and Dragon anti-tank systems, …. The man-portable... weapons system is expected to be lethal in the range of 1-5 miles, due to the fact that no sharp focusing of the laser beam is required. Therefore, it is capable of engaging both short and long ranged targets of any kind, greatly increasing the engagement area of current assault rifles.
NOTE: The same system can also be used in non-lethal area denial to personnel applications. A pulse laser force field (shock wave) can be initiated instantaneously to prevent personnel from restricted areas.
Which all sounds good -- on paper. But solid-state lasers still don't have the kind of power needed to meet these ambitious goals. At least $1.2 million was invested in this technology before it was diverted into the more modest PASS project. But the long-term aim is still to create smaller, and more powerful, pulsed laser weapons.
“As laser technology matures, we hope to eventually be at a 1 or 2 man-portable system,” says Keith Braun of the Army’s Advanced Energy Armaments Systems.
Interestingly, Stellar describes their efforts as “bringing the power of Star Wars technology to the field, providing the needed heavy punch capability to the SOF [Special Operations Forces] at a relative low cost.” It’s an Army program, but Special Forces Command have elsewhere expressed an interest in pulsed plasma laser weapons for lethal and nonlethal uses. It’s not impossible that there is more going on here than is visible from the surface and there are other more secret programs.
The developers see the possibility of dual lethal/nonlethal capability as a major benefit.
"I've talked to a lot of the guys in green," says Braun, "the one thing they want other than more time at home and a pay raise is a system that offers primarily less than lethal effects with the option to flip a switch and 'go lethal' should things escalate to that level. Hopefully, we are on the way to getting that to them."
As a lethal system, a laser sniper rifle would be a formidable weapon: perfect accuracy at any a range measured in miles, with no windage, no drop, and no need to allow for target movement. And it would not give the firer’s position away with a report, smoke or muzzle flash – all the enemy would see would be the effect when it hits the target. Although it would have little impact on armor, it would be useful against most other targets including aircraft and helicopters.
High-energy, continuous-beam laser weapon systems like the Airborne Laser rely on massive amounts of energy to burn through the target. Short pulse lasers can do the job with much less energy, by creating an intense shockwave focused on a small area. They may also be able to create significant electro-magnetic pulse effects, and there has been work on tuning these to stun or paralyze humans.
Can a lethal laser be made small enough to be portable, including the power supply? Not this year, and maybe not in five years. But the signs are that it’s certainly coming.
(Picture: PHASR, a solid-state laser dazzler project from the Air Force's ScorpWorks)