High-energy laser weapons have become a necessity for the Chinese and US military fleets. Photo/Reuters
WASHINGTON – Various countries in the world are competing to produce and design sophisticated laser weapons for use on warships. This high energy laser has the ability to destroy fighter jets and enemy ships.
Chinese scientists claim they have found a way to create a laser weapon that can be fired indefinitely. It will even dramatically increase its effectiveness compared to other laser weapons.
If their claims are true, it means that China has surpassed the US in developing high-energy laser weapons that can be used on the battlefield.
However, the capabilities claimed to have been developed by Chinese military scientists have not yet been seen in action.
Researchers at the National University of Defense Technology, a military research institute in Hunan, said they developed a cooling system that allows high-energy lasers to stay on without overheating.
“This system represents a major breakthrough in improving the performance of high-energy laser systems,” the scientists said in a paper published in Acta Optica Sinica, a Chinese-language peer-reviewed journal, on August 4, reported by the South China Morning Post.
“High-quality beams can be produced not only in the first seconds but also maintained indefinitely,” they added. The laser beam can heat gases in the air, which can reduce the quality of the beam and cause damage inside the laser chamber. To overcome this problem, the scientists say, they developed a system that can vent clean gases through a chamber and remove waste heat.
This allowed them to make the laser more compact and efficient. “So far, many advanced designs and research advances regarding the thermal management of dynamic airflow in China have not been reported,” the scientists said, as reported by the South China Morning Post. “This is the first time that some of the designs and test results have been made public,” they said.
Meanwhile, China and the United States, as well as other countries, are working to develop combat-ready, high-energy laser weapons that can produce beams powerful enough to melt steel.
