Oooooh! Aaaaah! Germans test 50kW Laser weapon system.

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**Zakiriel**

One step closer to actual Laz canons for the Land Raiders!

A German company used a futuristic laser weapon to cut through a half-inch thick steel girder from 2/3 of a mile away.
But don’t try running away just yet: Dusseldorf-based Rheinmetall Group also reported that its new 50kW high-energy weapon technology can successfully detect and engage targets.
The company announced its 2012 year-end operational testing at the Ochsenboden Proving Groud (EZO) in Switzerland, where it successfully overcame tough environmental conditions including snow, ice, rain and blinding sunlight to neutralize targets.
Since 2011, the company has increased the power of its lasers five-fold, producing twice the laser output within the same volume. The weapon was run against five different scenarios including air defense; countering rockets, artillery, and mortar (abbreviated C-RAM or counter-RAM); and asymmetric warfare operations.
And Rheinmetall showed that laser weapons could be placed at different locations and work together to create one superbeam against a target, a technology it calls Beam Superimposing Technology.
Currently, there are two components: a 30kW and 20kW laser weapon station each integrated into an air defense Revolver Gun Turret and operated with a Skyguard fire control unit built by subsidiary Oerlikon.
This modular design lets the weapon maintain high quality while increasing overall performance.
Against several nose-diving drones, the system’s radar can detect incoming unmanned aerial vehicles and within seconds shoot down the whizzing drones, which fly at more than 111 miles per hour at a range of 1.25 miles.
The laser was also challenged to detect, pursue and engage a tiny ballistic target.
The Skyguard fire control unit immediately detected the 82 mm steel ball, the 30kW laser weapon station mechanically tracked it and then laser weapon optically tracked the tiny target and destroyed it.
Later this year, Rheinmetall plans to unveil more laser tech -- this time combining a laser weapon with an automatic canon.
The company is currently working on integrating a 60kW laser with the 35mm Ahead Revolver Guns system.
Further down the road, the company believes from a technical stand-point that it will build a 100kW output weapon, as well as a mobile version.
The company has successfully tested a 1kW laser on a special TM170 vehicle, but will be developing the laser for other vehicle platforms as well.

Hat tip to Allison Barrie / War Games / Published January 14, 2013 / FoxNews.com

**Leigen_Zero**

Well, lets face it, the only time we as a species truly invent spectacular technological innovations, is when we are trying to find new and exciting ways of killing each other...

Still, the idea of laser tanks is pretty interesting...

**Ratbarf**

The problem with lasers is range, line of sight weapons are a pain in the ass when someone can just drop over the horizon arty on you.

**Surtur**

Does it go "FREEM" or "PEW PEW"?

**Grey Templar**

Ratbarf wrote:
The problem with lasers is line of sight, line of sight weapons are a pain in the ass when someone can just drop over the horizon arty on you.

Fixed. Range isn't a huge issue with lasers, line of sight is.

**Hulksmash**

I think he meant usable range as it will be limited to the environment.

Neat toy!

**Grey Templar**

Well thats true of any weapons that arn't artillery or missiles pretty much. The fact that an M-16 has an effective range of 550 yards almost never comes into play as most engagements will be occuring well within that range.

Thats not really a limiting factor, and in environments where there isn't a whole lot that obstructs your line of sight it would be very effective.

**Hulksmash**

Until someone figures out the proper mixture for chaff that reduces it's power to endurable levels. There is an advantage to ballistic weapons.

**Ouze**

How could something like this work in the snow, or rain?

**Grey Templar**

Possably, although my understanding of the chaff concept would work better by making it harder to find the target not having it reduce the power of the laser itself. Its easier to make it impossable to actually see where your target is than find a specific particle composition that disperses the laser.

In which case you would probably still use ballistic weapons because shelling an area with artillery is just easier and accuracy wouldn't be too adversly effected.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Ouze wrote:
How could something like this work in the snow, or rain?

If its powerful enough to punch through steel its probably powerful enough to melt its way through snow/boil the water away. It just make take a few milliseconds longer to do the damage.

Depends on how heavy the snow/rain is too. unless its very very heavy I can't see it causing any major reduction in power. The bigger issue is getting a bead on the target.

**Ratbarf**

Grey Templar wrote:
Ratbarf wrote:
The problem with lasers is line of sight, line of sight weapons are a pain in the ass when someone can just drop over the horizon arty on you.

Fixed. Range isn't a huge issue with lasers, line of sight is.

As an aside please don't do the whole fixed thing..... It's kind of a pet peeve of mine.

On topic, I meant that it's range is limited due to the curve of the earth. This was one of the problems that are attributed to Tesla's Deathray. The line of sight aspect was just a given, and is still rather applicable to ballistic weapons as well.

**Desubot**

I though chaff was used to screw with radar signals

i wonder how the beam would react to reflective armor lol.

**Grey Templar**

Well we are discussing a chaff specifically made to counter a laser weapon. Currently chaff is used to obscure visual spotting and radar signals.

**Desubot**

Mm ok.

I would figure a chaff made of highly reflective particles that have a high melting point could disperse enough energy (certain chemical doped glass particle?)

otherwise painting armor or vehicles white/reflective could diminish some of the energy no?

also retro reflector to send the beam back.

**Leigen_Zero**

Ratbarf wrote:
Grey Templar wrote:
Ratbarf wrote:
The problem with lasers is line of sight, line of sight weapons are a pain in the ass when someone can just drop over the horizon arty on you.

Fixed. Range isn't a huge issue with lasers, line of sight is.

As an aside please don't do the whole fixed thing..... It's kind of a pet peeve of mine.

On topic, I meant that it's range is limited due to the curve of the earth. This was one of the problems that are attributed to Tesla's Deathray. The line of sight aspect was just a given, and is still rather applicable to ballistic weapons as well.

While I agree with the science, I would be suprised to find a conflict that is occuring at sufficient range that the curvature of the earth actually becomes a pressing issue for laser weaponry, considering this thing seems to be built for taking out enemy armour and shooting down missiles at close range.

Aside from any conflict where we are trying to shoot down ICBMs etc...

**Ratbarf**

The targeting of strategic bombers and the like was also one of the primary uses for Tesla's ray. The problem with laser weapons is pretty much that they cant kill things moving fast and low enough to the ground to be accurately tracked and targeted. A thing many modern planes and cruise missiles are capable of. Also, modern naval guns can fire over the horizon as well, which means that this weapon will only be applicable for close in defence. Yet it would seem that the firing platform is not yet condensed enough to make it effective as a medium weapon.

Too much weight for punch so to speak.

**Grey Templar**

Even the Naval Railgun can fire over the horizon, a long LONG way over the horizon in fact.

**whembly**

Grey Templar wrote:
Even the Naval Railgun can fire over the horizon, a long LONG way over the horizon in fact.

? They on ships now?

I thought it couldn't be done due to energy constraints???

**Grey Templar**

Not yet, but when they do get installed they are looking at an effective range of 500 miles.

And energy isn't the limitation, Nuclear reactor on ships and all that, but rather its the fact that when you shoot the gun there is so much friction that it causes the barrel interior to vaporize. Meaning that every couple shots the barrel needs replacing.

If you look at video of the test railguns being fired you will see lots of fire. Thats actually the barrel lining getting vaporized.

**juraigamer**

Pew pew. There must be a german version of that.

**whembly**

Grey Templar wrote:
Not yet, but when they do get installed they are looking at an effective range of 500 miles.

And energy isn't the limitation, Nuclear reactor on ships and all that, but rather its the fact that when you shoot the gun there is so much friction that it causes the barrel interior to vaporize. Meaning that every couple shots the barrel needs replacing.

If you look at video of the test railguns being fired you will see lots of fire. Thats actually the barrel lining getting vaporized.

Kewl... so... you'd still need crews to support the guns...

Instead of them reloaded after each shot... they're replacing the barrels after so many shots.

**Ratbarf**

Well the thing is though that the railguns will far outrange a laser, and will likely be moving too fast to target and destroy with a laser. So pretty much lasers are only going to come into their own when we start fighting wars in space.

**Grey Templar**

Even then, guided rockets and solid slug weaponry will probably be more common.

**Ratbarf**

Not so sure on the solid slug, to get the kind of speed needed to close the distances that a space war would entail would likely mean lasers and guided munitions only, as the recoil from firing a gun with a muzzle velocity high enough to have the same kind of effectiveness would be a pretty big speed killer methinks.

That said, simply chucking solid objects at things that have a known/calculable position will probably become the new weapon of mass destruction.

**Grey Templar**

Well the solid slug will not be limited by air resistance so it will be pretty darn fast. Solid slug will also be cheaper to use compared to an energy weapon.

**Laughing Man**

Grey Templar wrote:
Well the solid slug will not be limited by air resistance so it will be pretty darn fast. Solid slug will also be cheaper to use compared to an energy weapon.

A thousand physicists cried at this statement.

**Grey Templar**

We were talking about using it in Space

**Zakiriel**

As far as large rail-guns go here is a quick look at a naval research test shot.

**CthuluIsSpy**

Leigen_Zero wrote:
Well, lets face it, the only time we as a species truly invent spectacular technological innovations, is when we are trying to find new and exciting ways of killing each other...

Still, the idea of laser tanks is pretty interesting...

Screw laser tanks, I want to strap that sucker onto a shark!

**potatosack**

would it by any chance be possible to purchase one of these contraptions? or put it into space, so then we have a space lazer. or build a shoulder launch 50kW lazer? that's be awesome. or do anything with it really, adding 50kW lazers into anything automatically makes it awesome in my book