December 16, 2014 at 11:58 am
LMT is working hard on airborn lasers
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2014/september/0915-ss-laser.html
the USAF expects to use them by 2030
http://theaviationist.com/2013/11/22/usaf-lasers-on-jets/
the F-35 seems like a super candidate, with its 360 degree optical targetting system and powerful engine
but I imagine they’ll be able to easily install this system onto any legacy aircraft (lasers and targetting optics), like they bolt on Sniper pods today
meaning any aircraft can become a flying 360 degree orb of laser death
will this make dogfights a thing of the past? you come in range and you die?
will it make missiles obsolete? especially against a formation of laser-armed aircraft, shooting at the speed of light, I don’t see much getting through
or might guided bullets be the answer, you can fire a self-guiding volley outside of laser range, and the number, size and resilience of bullets will allow them to breach the laser defence
and then there’s air-to-ground warfare
SAMs will get shot down before they can hit, like in this Predator C video
but on the other hand ground units will have access to more and better lasers, able to shoot down A2G ammunitions before they hit
they’ll probably also have bigger lasers, meaning they’ll hit aircraft higher and further, making area’s unaccessible to anything but railgun shots that are too fast and solid to be stopped by lasers