Boeing Tests Laser-Mounted Humvee as IED Hunter

[chulo_allen]

There is a cottage industry forming to thwart the twin threats of unexploded bombs and intentionally placed IEDs—by convincing the Pentagon to use long-range lasers in the warzone. Boeing, always at the forefront of a lucrative market niche, has mounted a solid-state direct-energy beam that can explode bombs in the clear before they can take out a convoy. And if the proving-ground footage we’ve been checking out is any indication, this zapper is definitely showing potential.

Late last month, Boeing conducted a series of tests at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama with a 1-kw laser mounted on the back of a converted anti-aircraft Humvee. Shooting an invisible beam just a few centimeters in diameter and 20 times hotter than an electric stovetop, the laser burned a hole through the casing of artillery and mortar rounds, detonating them more or less instantly. (As for bystanders, all bets are off.)

Boeing engineers also took the time to carve up a pair of grounded unmanned aerial vehicles (pictured below), hoping to promote the idea that laser-powered weaponry can be used in anti-aircraft and someday even missile defense. The company developed the Laser Avenger in just eight months as part of an ongoing effort “to show that directed energy weapons are relevant to today's battlefield and are ready to be fielded.”

more pics -->http://www.popularmechanics.com/tech...w/4231116.html

[Evolv5]

The only issue I see with that is, well a) First you have to find/spot the IED
and b) if this laser Humvee (unluckily) gets hit by an IED, it's one expensive piece of machinery to repair (I'm guessing, but one would think)

[Lt-Col A. Tack]

This concept seems awfully similar to the Zeus hummer already in service.

ZEUS-HLONS (HMMWV Laser Ordnance Neutralization System)

ZEUS uses a a 10-kilowatt(kW) solid-state heat capacity (SSHC)laser beam to heat target ordnance to the point of causing the explosive filler to ignite and starts to burn. Therefore it does not depend on the type of fusing the specific ordnance uses. The resulting neutralization causes a low-level explosion that minimizes collateral damage.

It has demonstrated the capability to engage targets from 25 to 300 meters away, as long as they are in line of sight. The Zeus system can be fired up to 2,000 times a day.

The ZEUS-HLONS system offers a roll-on roll-off capability that is C-17 and C-130 transportable. It is also helicopter sling certified.

...

Over its test and deployment history, ZEUS has eliminated more than 1,600 ordnance items of 40 different types with more than a 98% success rate.

In March 2003, ZEUS was deployed to Afghanistan for 6 months to demonstrate its countermine capabilities in a combat environment (Operation Enduring Freedom). It was used at Bagram Air Base and neutralized more than 200 munitions (including 51 in one 100 minute period) of 10 different types. At the time, the ZEUS-HLONS system was a 1/2 kilowatt laser.

In early 2004 the system was upgraded to a 1-kilowatt laser and then by late 2004 to a 2-kilowatt Yb:glass fibre-laser that is diode-pumped and operates in quasi-CW mode. This significantly reduced the overall system weight (removing about 2,000 pounds) and provided increased output beam power, which equates to extended range.

In January 2005, at the IQPC's Directed Energy Weapons conference in London. Gerald Wilson said the system takes between 5 seconds and 4 minutes (typically 30 seconds) to destroy a mine. Resulting in a clearance rate of up to 25 explosives per hour when equipped with a 0.5 kW laser.

On March 16, 2005, ZEUS was deployed to Iraq to assist in explosive ordnance disposal activities there as part of a three-vehicle convoy protection concept.



Wikipedia Link

[timetraveller]

I thought makin such tech known and info freely available on the net would be givin the Opposition advance warning .. inturn for them to create improved IED's ..

Against Opsec Rules ..

[chulo_allen]

Originally Posted by timetraveller

I thought makin such tech known and info freely available on the net would be givin the Opposition advance warning .. inturn for them to create improved IED's ..

Against Opsec Rules ..

lol then OpSec has been compromised when Popular Mechanics did an article on it.

[SOG]

is that a gun in the middle and rockets on the left?

the zeus looks much more practical in overall size although they seem to hide a lot of the components in the humvee's bed.

[Lt-Col A. Tack]

An Israeli turret-mounted System, Thor.

Thor – High Energy Laser IED Neutralization System



RAFAEL is introducing at Eurosatory a new high-energy laser weapon system, developed in Israel to defeat improvised explosive charges (IEDs), roadside bombs and unexploded ordnance (UXO) and other objects categorized "potentially explosive hazards".

The vehicular, system is mounted on a remotely controlled weapon station, carrying the laser beam director and high-energy laser and coaxial 12.7mm machine gun to neutralize improvised explosive devices from a safe, standoff distance. This dual capability enables Thor to be used for offensive and defensive purposes, as well as for safe stand-off removal of explosive obstacles by laser directed energy or projectile kinetic energy.

Since the laser is used to burn the IED, rather than activate it, it can be used to avoid collateral damage which can result from other neutralization procedures. The system's total weight is 850 kg, of which 250, including heavy machine gun and beam director are mounted on the externally.



THOR defeats explosive charges by inducing a low-order burning or deflagration reaction in the explosive fill at safe stand-off ranges

The directed energy from the laser is capable of rapidly clearing unexploded ordnance and defeating IEDs by inducing a low-order burning or deflagration reaction in the explosive fill at safe stand-off ranges (see photos above). THOR uses powerful, air cooled laser, measuring up to 700 watt. The kinetic energy from the 12.7mm bullet fired by the M2 functions as a standoff disrupter, destroying fusing, thick-cased munitions and booby traps. The M2 machine gun also provides accurate, direct fire upon enemy forces and targets in either an offensive or defensive role.

The system is modular and can be installed on a variety of vehicles and weapon stations, as an add-on system. The system is already operational is used by Combat Engineering and EOD/IED Defeat Forces, to enable on-the-move removal of explosive obstacles such as IED's, mines, UXO and others, with embedded self-protection capability. Thor has demonstrated combat effectiveness in operational engagements bringing an additional precision fire gun platform to the fight, while at the same time filling a unique tactical mission role.

Developed by Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd., Thor is now available for sale and integration in the United States by GD-OTS through a teaming agreement with Rafael. The system will be on display at the Eurosatory 2006 exhibition in June, 2006

Link

[andrew_rsa]

i think they are all great idea's but the main problem with these is that you have to spot an IED beforehand ? Please correct me if i am wrong.. but what we really need is something that drives around at the front of a convoy that will spontaniously detonate any IED's along the side of road before they can be intentionally exploded.. or am i missing something?

[Scrim]

Originally Posted by SOG

is that a gun in the middle and rockets on the left?

the zeus looks much more practical in overall size although they seem to hide a lot of the components in the humvee's bed.

Its a converted Avenger, so yes its a Stinger pod. There used to be one on the other side too. And that thing in the middle Im guessing its the laser? Used to be the Avenger "cockpit" where the gunner would sit.

[Lt-Col A. Tack]

Also, another company, Ionatron, has developed JIN, Joint IED Neutralizer, that uses a Laser Induced Plasma Channel. They call the discharge man-made lightning. I really don't know how it works.

Lightning Gunners Strike Twice, Get Navy Millions
By Noah Shachtman Email
April 24, 2007 | 6:51:00



Give the real-life lightning-gun makers at Ionatron some credit. Despite all the shady stock deals, IP theft allegations, and canceled contracts, the company always finds a way to get another bundle of cash from the military. The latest: a nearly $10 million award from the Navy.

Jin Ionatron's specialty is generating laser pulses, less than a ten-trillionth of a second long, which carve conductive channels of ionized oxygen in the air. Those channels act like "virtual wire[s]," through which Ionatron can send "man-made lightning" to a given spot, zapping whatever (or whoever) happens to be there.

In 2005 and 2006, the Arizona company built for the Defense Department about a dozen golf cart-esque vehicles, equipped with lightning guns, and seemingly ready for rapid deployment to Iraq -- only to have the things sent back.

Now, the military seems to be taking a back-to-basics approach. The two-year, $9.9 million deal with the Naval Surface Warfare Center calls for the "development of a 'pre-packaged brass board' of an Ultra Short Pulsed (USP) laser, which shall be transportable and suitable for use in exploring USP laser applications at a number of laboratories and test sites."

Once the prototype, relatively low-powered laser (one to 5 kilowatts, on average) has been built and studied, there will be a report, suggesting "a roadmap for scaling to higher... power."

Ionatron isn't the only company getting Navy cash for the quick-pulse lasers. Back in the fall, Orlando's Raydiance, Inc. got a $4 million contract to build a "brass board" blaster of its own. Link

From another source:

"The U.S. government customer concluded that the JIN counter-IED technology performed well and offers great promise, but determined that the current vehicle platform should be changed," the company said in a statement, picked up by the Arizona Daily Star. Link

From Ionatron's web site:

What is LIPC?

Laser-induced plasma channel (LIPC) weapons work like “man-made lightning” to disable people or vehicles that threaten our security.

Man-made lightning is not new; it was first demonstrated in the late 1890s by Nikola Tesla, the inventor of the AC induction motor. The transmission of energy without wires is the heart of the concept—man-made lightning is nothing more than high-voltage discharge. Ionatron improved the concept by adding a special kind of laser that lets us speed up the discharge and precisely control where the man-made lightning goes.

LIPC technology uses the conductive plasma formed when laser filaments pass through the atmosphere. Laser filaments are created by ultra-short (femto-second class) laser pulses generated by high peak power/low average power lasers. The conductive plasma acts like a highly efficient virtual wire for the controlled transmission of electrical energy. Ionatron’s weapons improve on Nature’s high-voltage discharges by precisely controlling where this man-made lightning goes, in both direction and range.

What’s a femto-second? It’s a duration of 10-15 seconds, or one thousandth of one millionth of a millionth of a second. Light travels only 0.3 micrometers in 1 femto-second. Link

[LazyLob]

What exactly is the advantage in having a laser do this job? IEDs aren't exactly fast moving targets.

[Lt-Col A. Tack]

Originally Posted by LazyLob

What exactly is the advantage in having a laser do this job? IEDs aren't exactly fast moving targets.

I'm thinking standoff distance, no collateral damage, and in the case of Zeus, the clearance rate possibly.

"Last year, a Zeus-HLONS was sent to Afghanistan for six months last year, where it destroyed 200 items, including 51 in one 100 minute period." Link

[chulo_allen]

Originally Posted by LazyLob

What exactly is the advantage in having a laser do this job? IEDs aren't exactly fast moving targets.

proof of concept- im sure they will cut it down more and more untill its hand held

[AUDIEM249]

Originally Posted by andrew_rsa

i think they are all great idea's but the main problem with these is that you have to spot an IED beforehand ? Please correct me if i am wrong.. but what we really need is something that drives around at the front of a convoy that will spontaniously detonate any IED's along the side of road before they can be intentionally exploded.. or am i missing something?

if you are looking, it isnt that hard to find them. out where i was at before i was wounded, we had a hit:found ratio of 1:7

[MichaelF]

Boeing engineers also took the time to carve up a pair of grounded unmanned aerial vehicles (pictured below), hoping to promote the idea that laser-powered weaponry can be used in anti-aircraft and someday even missile defense.

Most important item in the article.

Radar-directed Laser weapons are bad news for a/c.