Researchers have developed a new device which will enable small drones to shoot powerful lasers – something once thought impossible
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3290461/chinese-laser-scientist-crazy-li-arms-small-drones-metal-cutting-beam
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“Generating a laser beam [sufficient to cut through metal] with a long kill distance typically requires bulky equipment the size of a truck. A small platform, similar to a consumer drone, could never carry such a high-powered laser weapon and its accompanying energy supply equipment.
Li and his colleagues invented a small and lightweight redirecting device that allows drones equipped with it to receive powerful beams from the ground and reflect them onto enemy targets.”
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Sweet, I get to add a drone with a frigging laser attached to it’s head on my “Things that could kill me in the future” list.
They stole this idea from the Jedi who are good at redirecting lasers from storm troopers right back at them.
Did they seriously just invent Red Alert 2 Prism Towers but on drones?
So if the targeting sync up between super powerful ground laser and drone is off at all the laser would just kill the drone?
The world is going to pieces and some shithead woke up and said “You know what we lack? Drones that can burn people alive!”.
So it’s a drone mounted reflector to give ground based lasers an indirect fire option?
You know what stops a bad guy with a drone with lasers? A good guy with two drones with lasers.
Pure theoretically, asking for a friend, but is it possible to mount this in a shark?
So is that what the military has been testing over Jersey, NYC, and DC? Lol
Drones with fricking laser beams attached to their heads!
Isn’t one problem with a laser beam that you can’t easily limit the length?
So now we’re going to have laser beams angled at drones, who can re-angle them to destroy things. Sounds great
>About a kilometre ahead of them in the sky, a small drone hovers in place. Suddenly, one soldier lets out a scream, clutching his eyes with both hands as smoke curls between his fingers.
>They have been hit by laser beams emitted by the drone. Near-infrared laser with a wavelength of 1080 nanometres can cause blindness at a power of just five microwatts. The beam intensity that enters these soldiers’ eyes is 200 million times that, reaching one kilowatt per square centimetre.
Reminds me of the “stone burner” weapon from Dune.
I hear they’re currently testing it out over New Jersey 😂
Not possible with current tech. I believe this was a mirror on a gimbal redirecting a ground based laser? This is also against the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons which China, Russia, and the US are all signatories.
Chinese source. I’m skeptical. You’d think even the vibration from a flying drown would spread the beam out too much.