The Air Force will one day use drones and fighter jets to launch high-tech laser weapons to destroy high-value targets, conduct precise strikes, and burn enemy positions from the air.

Air Force officials have stated that the first aerial test is expected to take place in 2021. The focus of the development work is to improve the power, accuracy, and guidance capabilities of existing laser weapon applications, with the hope of increasing them from 10 kilowatts to 100 kilowatts. Air Force weapon developers are also researching guidance mechanisms to enable laser weapons to remain in orbit on specific targets.

Air Force leaders have stated that the Air Force plans to begin launching from large platforms such as C-17 and C-130Laser weaponsUntil technological miniaturization efforts can configure weapons to be launched from fighter jets such as F-15, F-16, or F-16. F-35。 Given the current technological situation, cargo planes are able to better transport the mobile onboard power required for onboard lasers in the short term.

The Air Force Research Laboratory is already developing a plan to develop laser weapons for drones and manned aircraft in order to arm aerial platforms by the mid-2020s.When it comes to lasers launched by drones, there seems to be no timetable yet to determine when they will become operational weapons - but this weapon technology is rapidly developing.

Future laser weapons can greatly supplement existing armaments or weapons launched by drones, such as Hellfire missiles. The service official explained that laser weapons allow for another method of destroying targets, rapid and continuous firing, reducing dollar expenses, and potentially improving accuracy. For example, a key advantage of using laser weapons is the ability to melt or burn incoming missiles or enemy targets without causing explosions.

A report from the Air Force Research Laboratory in 2016, titled "Lightspeed Combat to 2020," detailed how laser weapons can be used to provide "scalable" effects. The report states that this includes a 30kW laser that can "reject, degrade, destroy, and damage small boats within a range of several kilometers from UAS (unmanned aerial vehicles).

The AFRL report states,"More powerful lasers have applications in the air,ground, and sea, and can counter a large amount of hardened military equipment and vehicles over long distancesEarlier this year, the Congressional Research Service's report on directed energy programs also detailed some key advantages and limitations of rapidly developing laser weapons.

DE (directed energy) can be used as both a sensor and a weapon,shortening the time line from the sensor to the shooter to a few seconds. This means that US weapon systems can engage a target multiple times before the opponent responds,"the congressional report states.

Laser also brings a huge advantage over the "cost curve",making it easier to reuse. In many cases, low-cost lasers can destroy targets instead of expensive interception missiles. In addition, mobile power technology, target algorithms, beam control, and thermal management technology are all rapidly developing, which increases the prospects for successful laser applications.

Meanwhile, the congressional report also identified some fundamental limitations or challenges related to laser weapons.The report states that laser weapons may be affected by "beam attenuation, limited range, and the ability to strike non line of sight targets".The AFRL report reinforces this point, explaining that laser weapons need to achieve precise timing, tracking, and pointing in the aviation machinery vibrations caused by vibrations during flight.

This article also mentions the importance of designing lightweight exportable electricity that can support the installation of weapons on fighter jets. The report states that temperature is also important.The AFRL document states: "The system temperature can be largely controlled through the dissipation of waste heat,and high-speed aerodynamic flow must be reduced to avoid aviation optical interferenceService officials said that ground testing of a laser weapon called High Energy Laser (HEL) has been conducted at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.The high-energy laser test was conducted by the Air Force Directed Energy Agency at Coltrane Air Force Base in New Mexico.

The service is currently pursuing two parallel laser weapon programs; The self-protection high-energy laser demonstrator (SHIELD) is designed to prepare airborne lasers, and the demonstrator laser weapon system (DLWS) is aimed at launching weapons from the ground.Given the complexity of laser weapon integration, the AFRL report provides a detailed introduction to a three pronged development approach;The phased approach starts with subsystem engineering, then shifts to low-power laser testing, followed by extensive aerial and ground testing.

Another advantage of lasers is the ability to use larger magazines to mount weapons.Air force experts explain that instead of flying six or seven missiles on a plane or aircraft, directed energy weapon systems can use one gallon of jet fuel to fire thousands of bullets.The AFRL report states that the total number of launches they can make is limited only by the fuel available to drive the power source.”On July 13, 2015,the F-35A Lightning II aircraft received fuel from the KC-10 extender at Travis Air Force Base in California on a flight from the United Kingdom to the United States.