Lasers, an effective (and less expensive) defense system against the rise of drones

The powerful air defense of USA cannot be conceived without the Patriot missile system, which has intercepted ships and objects considered enemies since the 1980s. But although its supremacy is recognized throughout the world, the notable increase in the use of drones in ongoing wars has led President Donald Trump himself to talk about replacing the Patriots with a super-powerful and much less expensive technology: the laser.

In addition to being fairly easy to obtain, drones have a low cost. What is more difficult is fighting them. And this is where laser technology appears as an increasingly attractive option to neutralize them. While systems like the Patriot missile can cost more than $3 million per shot to intercept a drone, a laser can require an investment of $3.5 per shot, notes The New York Times, which highlights that, in addition to being cost-effective, high-energy lasers can burn drones in the sky “like blowtorches.”

“The laser has an enormous advantage over the anti-missile defense systems that are being used: the cost. For example, Israel uses the Arrow 2 or the Arrow 3 to intercept long-range missiles, which can cost millions of dollars. But the use of the laser would allow it to defeat the biggest advantage that a country like Iran has, which by manufacturing a lot of very expensive missiles can force Israel to spend on anti-missile technology worth hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars and impose an enormous economic cost on it,” the analyst explains to El Comercio. international Roberto Heimovits.

High-power laser systems have been evolving for more than a decade and today countries such as Israel, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France are testing their own versions.

These lasers are among the most common forms of direct energy weapons (DEW), which are those that transform electrical energy into physical effects capable of damaging or destroying aerial targets, explains Iain Boyd, an engineer specializing in defense systems at the University of Colorado, in Boulder, to “The Conversation.”

DEWs do not require a launch platform, but are usually placed on ships or armored vehicles from where they can fire a highly concentrated electromagnetic beam and target targets up to 20 kilometers away. According to experts, one of their main advantages is that as long as these systems are connected to a source of electrical energy, they can continue firing, so, in theory, their “ammunition” is infinite.

But there are also disadvantages. “The New York Times” notes that most existing laser weapons have a range of a few kilometers and very little power to stop ballistic missiles, although that could change in the near future. Additionally, laser systems are less effective in adverse weather conditions, and could shoot down other aircraft in the area.

“High-energy lasers are powerful weapons in the right conditions, but they are not the ultimate solution. Humidity can bend light rays unpredictably. Fog can prevent laser beams from reaching their targets. Splashes of seawater and sand can damage highly sensitive optical components, making it difficult to use and quickly repair these weapons in the field,” the media notes.

Therefore, armies still face significant challenges in building these types of systems and deploying them on a large scale.

“We cannot forget that the laser is a revolutionary technology. We have been talking about laser guns and laser cannons since the 1950s, but the issue is that a revolutionary technology also requires revolutionary advances in technology, and I am not sure if they have already been made,” concludes Heimovits.