XTEND By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President We’ve gotten a rare look at one of the Japan’s laser weapons. At the recent DSEI Japan exhibition – the country’s only large-scale defense event – the country’s Ministry of Defense unveiled its Vehicle-Mounted High-Power Laser System, which is being developed by the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency. According to military officials who spoke to Defence Blog, the laser weapon is a “potential game-changer for layered air defense, with its ability to engage targets without relying on traditional kinetic interceptors.” It was also noted that the laser weapon is a lot cheaper than conventional munitions and leads to a smaller amount of collateral damage. The prototype has a 10 kilowatt laser that is capable of continuous 360-degree emission. It’s mounted on an 8 x 8 truck chassis. Japan is said to be putting more emphasis on air defense systems that are flexible, mobile and can intercept slower targets such as aerial drones. Army Recognition reported that during tests in February and March, the laser system successfully neutralized a small drone. At the same time, Japan is coming up with a more powerful laser, which is known as a directed energy weapons, designed to defend against missiles. The advantage to using lasers is the ability to counter fast-moving targets without having to use physical interceptors. At the same time, there is unlimited ammunition capacity – as long as there is enough power supply. Meanwhile, the US has been developing is own laser weapons. The Navy has installed HELIOS – High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance – on an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. The Army has deployed several laser weapons overseas, and is expected to soon acquire a laser designed to make the enemy virtually blind by destroying reconnaissance drones. HII was selected by the Army to develop an open architecture High-Energy Laser that can be used as a fixed-site system or integrated onto Army vehicles. Israel became the first country to use lasers to destroy enemy drones in wartime, shooting down dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles launched by Hezbollah last year. Defenders used the lower-powered version of the Israeli Iron Beam interceptor. Reportedly, each Iron Beam interception costs just $2, while the conventional interceptors fired by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system costs anywhere from $20,000 to $1,000,000 each. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which debuted Israel’s first laser weapons more than a decade ago, says the latest one “offers advantages such as engagement at the speed of light, an unlimited magazine and negligible cost per interception.” By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News. Morris formerly worked as an executive, producer and editor at Bloomberg TV and ABC News.
