laser weapons developers 'riding the wave' created by tesla, other battery innovators - storage battery systems

Advances in Tesla's automotive battery technology (TSLA)
Others are now being borrowed to help raise the Pentagon.
Powerful laser weapons that can kill everything from enemy drones to missiles.
The ongoing laser weapons work includes awarding the Air Force Research Laboratory contract to Lockheed Martin (LMT)
Developed high last week-
Power fiber lasers that will be tested on tactical fighter jets by 2021.
The fighter demonstration project is part of the Air Force lab.
Called a shield or self.
Program to Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator.
"You can power the laser as much as you can power the car with a battery system," said Rob Afzal, senior researcher at laser weapons systems at Lockheed, America's largest defense company.
"We will use the same type of battery technology. . .
The reason is that you need to be able to provide a lot of energy in a short period of time.
"In fact, efficient lithium
The common ion battery technology in electric vehicles is now used to drive power generation and storage solutions for military laser applications.
It allows the laser to get a lot of energy very quickly for burning enemy targets, just as the Tesla Model S drive can accelerate from 0 miles per hour to 60 miles in seconds.
"As the battery becomes smaller, cheaper, with a greater power density and more reliable, we will have a better laser power supply system," Afzal said . ".
"Battery technology is ahead of laser weapons technology.
"Some experts praised Tesla for helping electric cars and the lithium revolution --
At the same time, it also reduces battery costs and expands the energy storage market outside the car.
Even so, the Tesla brand competes with other lithium brands
Last year, Technavio, an ion battery supplier and research firm, predicted that China would overtake the United States. S.
R & D spending on laser systems by 2022.
"Interestingly, many of the things that happen in the automotive industry can be filtered into new features in most other technologies, and laser is one of them," said Richard Bagnell, SHiELD project manager at Air Force labs.
Dan Goure, a former Pentagon official and current senior vice president of Virginia, believes that --
The tank Lexington Institute said that Lockheed's contract to develop lasers for fighter jets indicates how much progress the study has made in manufacturing laser weapons.
Lockheed said in a press release this month that its team will "focus on developing compact, efficient lasers with challenging size, weight and power constraints.
It also says the laser system will be installed on tactical fighters.
"The challenge, however, comes from the fact that:Energy weaponslasers —
Often much more power than the car battery needs.
Airborne laser weapons are designed to store energy to launch dozens of bullets, but can also include power charging systems like hybrid electric vehicles.
"You may not have to generate electricity on the plane at all [
For laser weapons," said Goure.
"You can have battery storage like Elon Musk in disguise.
"It is not clear whether Musk's Tesla or its suppliers are providing battery storage systems for defense contractors of laser weapons.
Tesla declined to comment on the matter.
For its part, Lockheed said it did not use its own dedicated battery technology for lasers, but was developing battery technology for cars, aircraft and other applications.
"We are taking the wind and Breaking the Waves," Afzal said . ".
"The progress of the battery is very significant.
We will use this.
"Anyway, the military has been working on deadly lasers since the 1960 s, but over the past decade, the development has intensified, focusing on stronger, more precise and more reliable technologies.
"One thing we found in many systems --
Land, sea and air
We don't have any shots, especially on defense . "
"You ran out of bullets and missiles.
It can avoid reloading if you have a laser.
For the Navy, a drone
A few years ago, an anti-personnel laser weapon system was deployed on the Persian Gulf amphibious carrier ponse, although the laser was removed from the ship last summer.
At 2018, the Navy is expected to test 150-
Power laser weaponsThe high-
Northrop Grumman is developing energy laser weapons (NOC)
Protect ships from drones, ships and enemy missiles.
The Army recently delivered a 60-
The kilowatt laser system of Lockheed will be installed on combat vehicles.
In addition, on August, Lockheed was in 30-
Advanced testing of high energy-consuming assets (ATHENA)
Laser weapon system for shooting down five drones
Athena is so powerful that it can burn a hole in a truck a mile away.
Experts pointed out that ten years ago,
National laser technology is larger than many combat vehicles.
"What's happening is a new type of electronic device.
"The drive laser technology has evolved over the past 10 years and we can make very efficient high power lasers," Afzal said . ".
"The more efficient your laser is, the less power you need to drive it.
"At the same time, innovation in the automotive industry means that today's laser weapons are lighter and more portable than the traditional chemical iodine lasers that Boeing has tested (BA)747-
The Air Force has 400 jets.
Chemical lasers can play a big role in fire and shooting down ballistic missiles, but are considered impractical and rely on large chemical tanks that can be dangerous in accidents.
As early as 2002 Boeing start test chemical laser weapons in 747 s of a program was called YAL-
1 Airborne Laser Test bench.
The flying laser system was designed to shoot down the enemy's missiles, but with different success, the Pentagon canceled a $5 billion plan in 2011.
"One problem with chemical lasers is that first they are too big and too heavy --
"You have to carry chemicals with you," Afzal said . ".
"With an electric laser, your platform can drive, sail, fly around and usually have a power system that can charge your battery.
But in a chemical laser, you have to go back to the warehouse once the chemical is gone.
"Recently, the United StatesS.
The Missile Defense Agency says it wants to look at the Air laser weapons again to kill the enemy's missiles, but it plans to focus on electrical solids instead of using chemical lasers.
National laser technology.
On June, the agency filed an information request with defense contractors to provide a high
The energy laser weapon system is compact and can intercept missiles in the booster section.
That means the technology could one day be used to shoot down ballistic missiles fired by North Korea that pose a threat to the United States. S. or its allies.