300-kw laser
The winners of the competition among potential developers of a super-powerful combat laser announced by the US Army were General Atomics (GA) and Boeing. According to the plan of the command, in the future it will be able to destroy high-speed air targets, including hypersonic missiles.
We are talking about a laser weapon system "with distributed amplification of high energy with a capacity of 300 kW." It will effectively solve the cooling problems characteristic of high-energy combat lasers. The distributed amplification system consists of several small sequentially arranged blocks, which allows them to dissipate their heat. The light beam is first fired into the first block, after which it is "transmitted" throughout the chain of blocks, without creating problems with overheating. This scheme allows you to create a scalable prototype of a new weapon.
Laser weapons
According to GA Vice President of Laser Systems Development Michael Perry, the prototype is the "7th generation" of an already created distributed amplification system, where two laser heads are placed in a compact lightweight case. Numerous improvements have allowed developers to bring the capabilities of a single-beam DG laser almost to the characteristics of fiber lasers. It is not yet known where such heavy–duty combat lasers will be installed in the future - on airplanes or trucks. In the meantime, GA does not spare colors to describe the power of a 300-kilowatt combat laser.
