The U.S. Military is Creating Laser Jets
You read that correctly, the U.S. military is trying to put laser weaponry onto its fighter jets. These weapons are already in use in the Navy, and there are plenty of advantages to putting them into the skies. If this technology works as planned, these lasers can burn holes through tanks and take out enemy jets straight with pinpoint accuracy. Now although you may be imagining Star Wars like laser beams propelling through the sky, these lasers function a little differently. For one, they are completely invisible and sadly lack the colorful aspects of fictional lasers. They are also silent, so they won’t be making the intergalactic noises science fiction may have inclined us to think of. This weaponry on planes would be revolutionary, as these lasers have incredible levels of precision. This means that collateral damage and civilian casualties would be greatly mitigated, as jets could dismantle specific targets hundreds of feet away while something like a missile would undoubtedly cause more chaos.
As good as this technology may seem, there are some pitfalls that need to be discussed. Firstly, the laser is designed to be ultra-precise but that can prove difficult when it is mounted to a plane moving at hundreds of miles per hour. Planes can cause aero-mechanical jitter that will interfere with lasers and cause them to lose precision. Additionally, the military needs to maintain the temperature of the weapon to prevent overheating. The use of effective cooling methods can drastically improve the fire rate of these weapons. If these issues can be resolved, this could be revolutionary technology for the military.
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyUh_xSjvXQ&ab_channel=CNN
