The Air Force, however, is focused on fighters. That’s a tighter fit than gunships or bombers, so the Air Force Research Laboratory has a relatively cautious three-phase plan, AFRL commander Maj. Gen. Thomas Masiello said at the conference:
1. A defensive system with “tens of kilowatts” of power called SHIELD, the Self-protected HIgh-Energy Laser Demonstration. It will be demonstrated circa 2020.
2. A longer-range defensive system with 100 kilowatts of power, to be demonstrated in 2022.
3. A 300-kilowatt offensive system capable of destroying enemy aircraft and ground targets at long range.
All these systems will be weapons pods or other external add-ons to existing aircraft, not “fully integrated” inside the airframe like a gun or radar, Masiello cautioned. That means radar-evading aircraft like the F-35 or F-22 couldn’t use them without sacrificing stealth. “We’re talking decades to have some sort of a 300-kw laser possibly integrated into a fighter,” he said.
The SHIELD demo will also look at engaging “soft” ground targets on behalf of Lt. Gen. Heithold and Air Force Special Operations Command. “Soft” wasn’t clearly defined, but it probably means sensors, communications equipment, and other delicate but high-value systems.
After SHIELD, though, it seems likely the fighter laser and the gunship laser will diverge, since the AC-130 has so much more space, weight, and power available. Special Operations is also famous for getting new technology into the field faster than the regular military, albeit in small quantities.
On an AC-130, “it is relatively easy to give up 5-10,000 pounds of weight to this,” Hehithold said. A gunship with a high-energy laser is just “a couple of years out,” he said. For the Air Force laser effort as a whole, he said, “that might be where we start.”
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