DavidsSling
BANNED
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2019
- Messages
- 829
- Reaction score
- 0
- Country
- Location
A new laser weapon torched multiple flying drones during tests by the US Air Force.
The Advanced Test High Energy Asset (ATHENA) system downed fixed wing and rotary drones by firing a high-powered beam at the unmanned aircraft over an Oklahoma test range, its manufacturer Lockheed-Martin said.
Instead of blowing a target to pieces, laser weapons work by burning through its outer layers over a number of seconds. This causes the target to destabilise or weaken, damaging key guidance controls inside.
In the case of ATHENA, it combines the power from multiple low-powered lasers to shoot one high-powered beam.
The Advanced Test High Energy Asset (ATHENA) system torched several drones in tests. (Lockheed Martin) (Supplied)
Footage from the test earlier this month shows a drone losing control while in flight, with its tail bursting into flames before it plummets to the ground.
Lockheed Martin says the ATHENA tests were challenging and simulated real threat environments, ranges and flight paths.
A government command and control system detected the drones before passing on the information to US Air Force personnel controlling the laser weapon.
The US military is concerned about the threat from swarms of drones that can penetrate air defences and hit installations such as air bases. A low-cost drone fitted with a small explosive device could easily disable a multi-million fighter jet parked on a runway of an air field.
A file photo of smoke billowing from an Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq in Saudi Arabia's eastern province .Drone attacks sparked fires at two Saudi Aramco oil facilities, with Yemen's Iran-aligned rebels claiming responsibility for the drone attacks. (PA/AAP)
In September, drone attacks damaged oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, causing world oil prices to rise, and swarms of drones launched an assault against a Russian military base in Syria in January.
The attacking unmanned small aircraft were all shot down but raised the spectre of drone swarm offensives.
https://www.9news.com.au/technology...rce-test/6cdf3901-a7d0-48c7-bcd8-dc7c2807eaf4
The Advanced Test High Energy Asset (ATHENA) system downed fixed wing and rotary drones by firing a high-powered beam at the unmanned aircraft over an Oklahoma test range, its manufacturer Lockheed-Martin said.
Instead of blowing a target to pieces, laser weapons work by burning through its outer layers over a number of seconds. This causes the target to destabilise or weaken, damaging key guidance controls inside.
In the case of ATHENA, it combines the power from multiple low-powered lasers to shoot one high-powered beam.
The Advanced Test High Energy Asset (ATHENA) system torched several drones in tests. (Lockheed Martin) (Supplied)
Footage from the test earlier this month shows a drone losing control while in flight, with its tail bursting into flames before it plummets to the ground.
Lockheed Martin says the ATHENA tests were challenging and simulated real threat environments, ranges and flight paths.
A government command and control system detected the drones before passing on the information to US Air Force personnel controlling the laser weapon.
The US military is concerned about the threat from swarms of drones that can penetrate air defences and hit installations such as air bases. A low-cost drone fitted with a small explosive device could easily disable a multi-million fighter jet parked on a runway of an air field.
A file photo of smoke billowing from an Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq in Saudi Arabia's eastern province .Drone attacks sparked fires at two Saudi Aramco oil facilities, with Yemen's Iran-aligned rebels claiming responsibility for the drone attacks. (PA/AAP)
In September, drone attacks damaged oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, causing world oil prices to rise, and swarms of drones launched an assault against a Russian military base in Syria in January.
The attacking unmanned small aircraft were all shot down but raised the spectre of drone swarm offensives.
https://www.9news.com.au/technology...rce-test/6cdf3901-a7d0-48c7-bcd8-dc7c2807eaf4
