A laser could also be powered by an onboard generator, theoretically providing enough energy for an unlimited number of shots. The fighter-equipped laser will probably represent the most profound way lasers will change aerial warfare. Airborne lasers aren’t ready yet, but once they are aerial warfare will never be the same.The Backstory: How and why USA TODAY is recognizing Women of the Century6 national restaurant chains in deepest trouble amid COVID-19 include Outback Steakhouse, IHOP and Denny's India’s nuclear missile force is relatively young, but it is advancing quickly. India’s nuclear missile force is relatively young, but it is advancing quickly. The Chinese military’s procurement Web site recently posted a notice about a laser attack pod, according to the state-run Global Times newspaper.This still leaves questions, such as whether a sufficiently powerful laser beam can be focused long enough to destroy fast-moving targets such as aircraft, missiles and drones. They could also be a key component of ballistic missile defense: manned aircraft or drones, armed with high-powered lasers and flying North Korea and other nations, could disable ballistic missiles during the initial boost phase of their flight.But even Chinese media acknowledges the difficulties of creating a airborne laser cannon. “This genre of weapon has not yet seen wide deployment due to remaining technical difficulties including power supply and energy loss problems,” Global Times said.The poster child of how not to design an airborne laser is the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s YAL Airborne Laser Testbed, an ambitious attempt to turn a Boeing 747 airliner into a flying laser cannon. India’s nuclear missile force is relatively young, but it is advancing quickly. A laser travels at the speed of light, making it impossible to evade. At a 2018 airshow in China, the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation unveiled the LW-30 air and missile defense laser, “which could use a directional-emission high-energy laser to intercept aerial targets such as photoelectric guidance equipment, drones, guided bombs and mortars,” the company told Global Times.Other nations are working on laser weapons.

The Chinese air force apparently has deployed bombers to an air base in the country’s far west, placing the warplanes within striking... The Chinese military’s procurement Web site recently posted a notice about a laser attack pod, according to the state-run “If equipped on aircraft, the laser could potentially protect against incoming missile attacks and dominate in close-range combat,” Global Times said.Chinese media noted that the laser attack pod indicated that the device was probably an airborne tactical laser: if it had been a laser designator to guide smart bombs, it would have been called a laser guidance pod.Weihutang, a military affairs program on Chinese state television, claimed that China has already developed a prototype 100-kilowatt airborne laser weapon. “This genre of weapon has not yet seen wide deployment due to remaining technical difficulties including power supply and energy loss problems,” Global Times said.The poster child of how not to design an airborne laser is the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s YAL Airborne Laser Testbed, an ambitious attempt to turn a Boeing 747 airliner into a flying laser cannon. Other aspects of the laser system are under development at the Naval Surface Warfare Center.

Leaders from Air Force Special Operations Command wanted an airborne-mounted laser weapon by the end of 2019. However, it proved so expensive and unrealistic – a 747 would have to fly close to enemy territory — that then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates scrapped the project in 2009.However, the YAL concept dated back to the 1980s, and grandiose ideas such as Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” missile defense project. There’s no explosion, sounds or flashes of lights to alarm the targets. Nonetheless, airborne laser weapons are moving closer to fruition. Unlike those kinetic weapons, the offensive high energy laser would be able to disable enemy systems stealthily. China’s solicitation proves the country is watching the rest of the world, particularly the U.S., and investing in lasers for the same purposes. “But here’s what’s really exciting — after a couple of years of really trying to get stable funding, we’re there.” According to FY21 budget documents, the program will utilize rapid prototyping efforts to develop laser, beam control, power and thermal subsystems and then bring the systems together through a lead government integrator.

At a 2018 airshow in China, the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation unveiled the LW-30 air and missile defense laser, “which could use a directional-emission high-energy laser to intercept aerial targets such as photoelectric guidance equipment, drones, guided bombs and mortars,” the company told Global Times. This still leaves questions, such as whether a sufficiently powerful laser beam can be focused long enough to destroy fast-moving targets such as aircraft, missiles and drones.