Lasers were conceptualized in 1917 by Albert Einstein in his paper “The Quantum Theory of Radiation.” By rederiving Max Planck’s law of radiation through probability coefficients of his own devising, Einstein laid the theoretical groundwork for measuring the probability of an atom or molecule absorbing or emitting light (either spontaneously or through stimulation).
American physicist Joseph Weber submitted a paper three decades later in 1951 which described making a microwave amplifier using stimulated emissions.
In 1953, a group of graduate students led by another American physicist named Charles Hard Townes produced the first microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (MASER). Shortly thereafter in 1957, Townes began work at Bell Labs to develop a similar device that used visible light. At the same time, a graduate student at Columbia University named Gordon Gould was writing about the energy levels of excited thallium and made note of an idea for a laser.
Later in 1959, Gould published the acronym and term LASER, which stood for “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.” Following at attempt to patent his work in 1959 and a subsequent patent being awarded to Bell Labs in 1960, a twenty-eight-year lawsuit began.
Despite the dispute over who invented the laser first and the intriguing story of its origin, in 2018, the laser is everywhere in our lives. Lasers are used in bar code readers, compact discs, computer printers, color copiers, laser shows, holography as well as position and control systems. Lasers are in our homes, our hospitals, our labs, in space, in our oceans, in our theaters and in our military.
Laser weapons were once the domain of science fiction, but now they are practical and efficient enough for military applications. Laser weapons offer one practical advantage in that their cartridge systems do not run out and the cost versus that of a missile intercept system is far less. The cost of intercepting a ballistic missile is pretty astronomical, but the cost of attempting and failing is an even greater loss.
For example, in February of 2018, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency tested a Raytheon SM-3 Block IIA missile which failed to reach its target and cost a total of USD 40 million. Another SM-3 IIA also failed to reach its target in June of 2017 from the USS John Paul Jones, costing USD 130 million, according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
The astronomical cost is part of the reason that power electronics experts at three American defense companies recently announced the initiation of a project to create technologies for laser weapons on future unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that will destroy enemy ballistic missiles in boost phase. In ballistic missile terminology, boost phase is the first of four phases of flight: boost phase, post-boost phase, midcourse, and terminal phase. Boost phase is when the main boost rocket or upper stages are firing.
The U.S. Missile Defense agency announced modifications to a contract with San Diego-based General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, which operates out of Sunnyvale, California, and Alabama-based Boeing Defense, Space & Security on a contract to develop and build technologies for the Lower Laser Demonstrator (LPLD) project.
What is the Lower Laser Demonstrator Project (LPLD)?
As you can imagine, the engineering on a project like this is pretty mind-blowing. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems creates highly specialized high-voltage capacitors for direct current, high-frequency alternating current, pulsed power and pulsed power systems. Their pulsed power systems are sufficient to support U.S. military railgun applications and electric aircraft carrier catapults, which are gradually replacing steam catapults on aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy.
Why are these three companies suited to make a UAV with a laser weapon?
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems specializes in high-voltage capacitors for direct current, pulsed power, high-frequency alternating current, and pulsed power systems powerful enough to support future railgun applications and all-electric aircraft carrier catapults.
Along with designing, developing and building power-management and energy-storage technologies, another part of the company designs military-grade UAVs like the Predator, Avenger, Reaper and Grey Eagle UAVs.
Lockheed Martin has been working closely with the U.S. Air Force in a project known as the Laser Advancements for Next-generation Compact Environments (LANCE). The goal of this project is to design, develop and produce a high-power laser defense system for protecting military aircraft from enemy missiles and aircraft.
LANCE itself is part of the U.S. Air Force’s Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD) program whose goal is to develop and manufacture a high-energy laser against enemy missiles and aircraft.
The Reason Why Laser Weapons Target Ballistic Missiles in Boost Phase
Destroying enemy ballistic missiles in boost phase, or when the missile’s main boost rocket or upper stages are firing is critical to the program because with one laser shot, the laser-weaponized UAV can strike several missile warheads independently and eliminate decoy systems designed to protect enemy missiles.
Though the LPLD program is not complete, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Atomics will likely move on to a technology demonstration during the second phase. This means that the system design is done, and the second phase of building and testing a low-power laser for beam control and stability will take place in the next few years.
The Bottom Line
The end goal from the LPLD project is to develop solid-state lasers that can destroy ballistic missiles from UAVs operating at high altitudes. If the engineers and designers at Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems are successful, the mechanics of operating the low-power laser demonstrator—how to aim and keep the laser focused on the missile as it leaves a launch pad while keeping the laser steady on a small area of a ballistic missile—will likely have a plethora of alternative military applications.