Chinese military experts are urging their country to accelerate the development of laser weapons in order to keep up with the United States' rapid advances in anti-drone technology, The South China Morning Post reports.
The Laser Weapons Race
According to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Pentagon spends around $1 billion per year developing directed energy weapons to counter threats such as drones and missiles.
The agency also notes that military departments are working to develop directed energy weapons. For example, the Department of Defense developed a number of laser weapon system demonstrators and prototypes that were successfully used in live fire demonstrations to shoot down drones.
How Important Is Laser Tech Weaponry
Laser technology is increasingly being considered as a possible countermeasure to the use of drone swarms in modern conflicts.
How? A laser beam of sufficient intensity can effectively disrupt a drone's optical sensors or even cause physical damage by burning through its surface.
SCMP notes that the US has been at the forefront of directed energy weapons research since the 1960s, establishing itself as a pioneer in this field with significant progress made in developing and deploying such advanced technologies.
US Leads the Way with Directed Energy Weapons
The US Navy installed its first laser weapon system, the AN/SEQ-3, on the USS Ponce for successful field tests in 2014. The US Navy also installed its first permanent laser on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Preble last year.
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Globalsecurity.org notes that the US Navy believes that directed energy weapons provide game-changing capabilities in terms of speed-of-light engagement, deep magazines, multi-mission functionality, and affordable solutions for the Navy and Marine Corps.
Laser weapons have extremely low engagement costs-literally less than a dollar per pulsed energy round.
China Urged to Double Down on Research
SCMP notes that China has also been researching the use of laser weapons with some success. However, Chinese military experts have stated that China needs to invest more in the development of high-powered laser weapons.
According to Zhou Chenming, a researcher at the Beijing-based Yuan Wang Military Science and Technology think tank, China is good at making smaller laser weapons like the Silent Hunter but lacks more powerful ones capable of intercepting larger targets like missiles or those that can be installed on naval vessels.
Zhou believes that this is the path China should take in developing and expanding its own laser technology.
According to Zhou, another promising direction would be to equip warplanes with laser weapons, which could be used at high altitudes and would be less affected by dust and rain.
Limitations in the Technology
According to Sean McFate, a professor at Syracuse University's Maxwell School and Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, there are still limitations despite significant US investment in the technology.
"Everyone wants light and portable laser weapons," McFate says, "but it's a long way off." You essentially need a portable power plant, which is unrealistic... Lasers are more hype than reality, but the United States is investing $1 billion per year to close the gap.
In recent years, China has made significant advances in high-tech military technology, including advancements in stealth fighter jets and aircraft carriers. The country has also made significant investments in AI research and development, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles.
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