chinese laser weapon development

Jiuyuan Corp' low-altitude anti-drone laser defense system being displayed at the 6th Mianyang Technology Expo. The second photo shows the destroyed DJI drones.

(1920 x 1440)
44564724801_e0339c7c8d_o.jpg


(1440 x 1080)
29626428937_5263bdbe48_o.jpg

Note that the targets are all just plastic hobbyist drones, not even metal professional/commercial ones.
 

Inst

Captain
The F-35's lasers are not hard-kill lasers; they're intended to disable IR sensors on short-range missiles. The J-20, to the best of our knowledge, does not have IR countermeasures of this sort, and if they come on, they'd have to come on through pods.
 
D

Deleted member 13312

Guest
The F-35's lasers are not hard-kill lasers; they're intended to disable IR sensors on short-range missiles. The J-20, to the best of our knowledge, does not have IR countermeasures of this sort, and if they come on, they'd have to come on through pods.
Putting laser pods on the J-20 or the F-35 will seriously degrade their stealth levels, not to mention their flight performances. And that is in conjunction with all the calculation works needed to effectively program the laser pod to accurately target a missile speeding in at match 3 and above while doing multiple Gs.
Until these obstacles can be surmounted, the best and surest way for stealthy fighters to defeat IR missiles will be using IR reducing coating and decoy flares.
 

ougoah

Brigadier
Registered Member
It's certainly no easy task but an IR missile coming more or less head on towards you does not mean chasing the seeker at diode rotation speeds of mach 3 because the relative motion to the laser diode will be relatively predictable and slow. In fact the most difficult thing will be the hardware rather than the software for such a system. Making a variable diode that can change direction and stay on a target with the right stability, all while the plane is in motion will be difficult.
 

ougoah

Brigadier
Registered Member
Note that the targets are all just plastic hobbyist drones, not even metal professional/commercial ones.

Those tests are to shown off accuracy apparently. Because small drones are smaller targets etc. Sure we don't know how far away they were or if and how fast they were moving to really judge. Rest assured though. Any military that fields these sorts of anti-drone lasers know exactly which ones they can engage effectively because these tests would have been done well. I'm sure the outputs can also destroy large military UCAVs otherwise there'd be zero point in developing and fielding this stuff for now. It's really more a question of effective range and accuracy than power output, hence the small drones to "demonstrate" those abilities. I mean you're not going to shoot down $20 drones with $50 cameras spying on your facility with $50k missiles right? So lasers are a great way to deal with even the small drones.
 

siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
English link for the LW-30 laser weapon system.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Chinese defense company has taken the opportunity at the Zhuhai Airshow or AirShow China 2018 exhibition to unveil a new LW-30 laser weapon system prototype.

The LW-30 is a modern short-range precision laser inception weapon that designed for tracked and destroyed unmanned aerial vehicles, light aircraft and commercial drone.

LW-30 laser weapon system basically consists of a laser commanding and communicating vehicle, laser combating vehicle and support equipment. It can be used to strike photoelectric guidance equipment, UAV, aerospace aircraft models.


With a low cost per shot and an infinite magazine, LW-30 laser weapon system is effective over land, air and sea.

The truck-based system currently can destroy targets from up to 25 km away with an energy beam of up to 30 kilowatts.

The AirShow China 2018 exhibition is set to take place from 6–11 November.

I think 25 km is probably the maximum dazzling range against photoelectric guidance equipment.
 

siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


A new laser weapon system debuted at Airshow China 2018 could effectively contain tactical reconnaissance and prevent terror attacks and can be easily deployed on level ground like the plateaus of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region and islands of the South China Sea, military analysts said.

The vehicle-based laser weapon, called LW-30 laser defense weapon system, was unveiled by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), one of China's largest missile manufacturers.

According to a statement CASIC sent to the Global Times on Sunday, the LW-30 laser defense weapon system could use a directional-emission high-energy laser to quickly intercept many kinds of aerial targets, such as photoelectric guidance equipment, drones, guided bombs, and mortars.

It features sustainable-combat, high-energy focused launch, efficient thermal management and is also capable of long-range detection and imaging, said the statement.

The system consists of a radar command communication vehicle, a laser vehicle and a support vehicle. The system can be flexibly deployed in key areas based on specific scenarios and demands.

It can complete independent operations or multiple network strikes, and can be integrated into traditional air defense weapon systems, said the statement.

Specifically, it can cooperate with traditional weapons such as the close-in weapon system and air-defense missiles, the statement said.

Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Sunday that the system aims to detect and strike low, slow and small (LSS) targets, which refers to those that fly below one kilometer, at speeds around 200 kilometers per hour and have a radar cross-section smaller than one square meters.

"It can detect drones and contain enemies' tactical reconnaissance and strike aerial terror attacks," Song said.

According to Song, terrorists usually use LSS targets to carry explosives and radioactive substances.

The system could be deployed on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and South China Sea islands, he noted.

Analysts said the research progress and technical status of the system are very mature, and it may soon enter into military service.

Together with the laser weapon system, China South Industries Group Corporation also unveiled another laser weapon during the air show called the "light-vehicle laser demining and detonation system." The system can destroy explosive devices such as mines through high-power laser irradiation at a long distance, avoiding casualties caused by manual bomb disposal, media reported.

CEA8epv.jpg


The image from the Zhuhai expo seems to show the laser tracking and destroying an air-to-ground missile.
 

siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
An energy beam of up to 30 kilowatts can only destroy a small unarmored drone.

LAWS on USS Ponce is around 30KW and could destroy drones and small boats.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


PENTAGON: The age of laser weapons has officially begun. Since September, the
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
has had a $40 million, 30-kilowatt
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
(LaWS) aboard the
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
in the Persian Gulf. “They’re using it every single day,” said the
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
, Rear Adm.
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
. Sailors — not contractors or engineers — perform basic maintenance, train on the Xbox-style controls, destroy practice targets such as drones, and spy on suspicious ships and aircraft, using the laser’s sophisticated optics as a sort of super-telescope.

How big a target can this laser kill? “We can disable [a] rather large craft or helicopter,” Klunder said. An aircraft, of course, would then crash; a boat would be “dead in the water.”
 
Last edited:
Top