Air warfare at the speed of light, intercepting air-to-air attack weapons, burning holes through armor of enemy tanks and pinpointing enemy fighter jets with optical sensors and lethal weapons .. are all critical things laser-weapons are expected to at some point perform firing from F-35s, F-22s, F-16s, F-15s and even cargo planes.
In recent months, several cutting edge Air Force fighter-jet-mounted laser programs have been halted or slowed, yet the service remains intensely committed to the possibility and optimistic that scientific progress made thus far will ultimately enable laser-armed fighter jets. Two air-launched laser weapons programs were “stopped” within the last year, yet the technological gains accomplished through the efforts is inspiring continued rapid development of air-launched lasers. Air Force Special Operations Command, for example, canceled its AC-130J-mounted Airborne High Energy Laser System, and the Air Force itself canceled a developing missile-defeating laser slated for the F-35 called the Self Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator, according to an essay earlier this year in Military.com. However, hope is not lost and the effort to arm fighter jets with laser weapons is realistic, progressing quickly and gaining traction. In fact, Senior Air Force weapons developers emphasize that the canceled programs generated extremely valuable technological lesson and massively accelerated ongoing progress to arm jets with lasers.
Why is arming fighter jets with lasers so difficult?
Form factor is central to the equation, as laser weapons have been operational for many years now, however on Navy ships, ground installations or other platforms where there is sufficient space, weight and power to power up lasers with sufficient force for effective periods of time. Most of all, expeditionary electrical power is needed in small enough form with sufficient power density to support and sustain high-powered laser weapons. At the same time, thermal management is also critical to laser weapons as they can generate very intense levels of heat which might destabilize some of the electronics on a platform.
These challenges considered, the Air Force has been making rapid and impactful progress developing laser weapons for fighter jets. Ground tests have shown great promise, the Navy is now operationalizing lasers on its destroyers and the Army is firing lasers from Stryker vehicles, so it won’t be long before the F-35 and F-22 are flying with high-powered precision laser weapons.
Within just the last few years, the Air Force has been conducting some air-fired tests of laser weapons as well, and the plan is to start by firing lasers from larger cargo aircraft better suited to accommodate the space, weight and power necessary to support in-flight laser weapons.
AFRL Ground & Air Tests
In anticipation of the ultimate arrival of laser weapons on fighters, the U.S. Air Force has for many years been refining its combat strategy, tactics, and concepts of operation. Tactical changes will undoubtedly result from an effort to accommodate the rapid emergence of laser weapons, as they are technologies that promise to alter the landscape of modern warfare and substantially expand the envelope of attack possibilities for fighter jets.
