http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2009-03/20/content_11038186.htm
美研制100千瓦級固態激光器實現武器小型化
2009年03月20日 08:50:14 來源:東方網
據俄羅斯《紐帶》網報道,美國軍工業巨頭諾思羅普·格魯曼公司近日宣布,其已成功研制出了一種功率約100千瓦的固態激光器,在建造使用激光武器的道路上又邁出了極為重要的一步——如此功率的激光武器足以用來摧毀火箭彈、迫擊炮彈、炮彈、無人機和巡航導彈等。此次研制成功的激光器所需的電力可由飛機或坦克的發動機供給。
在接下了的研制工作中,諾·格公司將在野外條件下對這種新型固態激光器進行測試,以驗證其摧毀導彈的能力。除此之外,還將考察其是否適合在極端的戰場條件下進行使用。
相對于幾年前10千瓦級的固態激光器來說,100千瓦能量級的固態激光器無疑是一項重大突破。雖然化學激光器能夠產生能量更為強大的激光束,但由于它們的體積通常都會非常龐大,因此限制了在軍事領域的用途。
諾·格公司宇航係統部定向能係統計劃副總裁丹·維爾德指出:“我們研制的模塊化聯合高功率固體激光器設計可以根據激光武器係統的不同用途,直接為其提供任務所需的能量水平,其中包括空中、海上和地面平臺的部隊防禦和精確打擊等任務。”
他同時還表示:“這一成就非常重要,因為傳統理論證明100千瓦是高能激光器進入武器級功率水平的一個閾值。事實上,很多軍事用途使用25千瓦或50千瓦的激光武器就可以實現,並且可以擁有到很好的光束質量,而我們的係統也可以達到這種效果。這次裏程碑式的試驗之後,我們的能力已經大大超出了這些需求。”
美國軍方激光武器計劃負責人布萊恩·斯特裏克蘭德表示,諾·羅公司的這一成果表明,借助電力產生的激光束現在已能夠在戰場上摧毀目標。專家們指出,在經過長達40余年的研制後,現在激光武器終于有可能用來裝備作戰飛機、坦克和軍艦。(東方網3月20日消息)
http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=161575
Northrop Grumman Scales New Heights in Electric Laser Power, Achieves 100 Kilowatts From a Solid-State Laser
REDONDO BEACH, Calif., March 18, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reaching new heights with its scalable building block approach for compact, electric laser weapons, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has produced the most powerful light ray yet created by an electric laser, measured at more than 105 kilowatts (kW).
A photo accompanying this release is available at
http://media.globenewswire.com/noc/
The company claimed ownership of this record by completing the final demonstration milestone of the U.S. military's Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) program, Phase 3. The achievements included turn-on time of less than one second and continuous operating time of five minutes, with very good efficiency and beam quality. Last year, Northrop Grumman reported reaching a JHPSSL Phase 3 power level of 15.3kW in March and a power level of 30kW in September.
"Our modular JHPSSL design makes it straightforward to scale laser weapon systems to mission-required power levels for a variety of uses, to include force protection and precision strike missions for air-, sea- and land-based platforms," said Dan Wildt, vice president of Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector.
"This achievement is particularly important because the 100kW threshold has been viewed traditionally as a proof of principle for 'weapons grade' power levels for high-energy lasers. In fact, many militarily useful effects can be achieved by laser weapons of 25kW or 50 kW, provided this energy is transmitted with good beam quality, as our system does. With this milestone, we have far exceeded those needs."
Wildt continued, "Power scaling will be one of the game-changing features of high-energy lasers because it allows graduated responses by U.S. military services appropriate for whatever level of threat they may face. Threats vary, and so should the response."
Jay Marmo, Northrop Grumman's JHPSSL program manager, pointed out how the company's scalable, building block approach also readily enables more challenging missions that require well above 100 kW of good beam quality laser power.
"Getting to 100 kW with replicated building blocks proves we can scale to these higher power levels if required for a given mission. This watershed development, coupled with our FIRESTRIKE(tm) laser ruggedization work, unequivocally demonstrates that Northrop Grumman is ready to bring high-power, solid state lasers to the defense of our deployed forces."
For building blocks, the company utilizes "laser amplifier chains," each producing approximately15kW of power in a high-quality beam. Seven laser chains were combined to produce a single beam of 105.5 kW. The seven-chain JHPSSL laser demonstrator ran for more than five minutes, achieved electro-optical efficiency of 19.3 percent, reaching full power in less than 0.6 seconds, all with beam quality of better than 3.0.
The laser already has been operated at above 100kW for a total duration of more than 85 minutes. A government team reviewed results of the demonstration during a System Test Data Review held Feb. 10 at Northrop Grumman's Directed Energy Production Facility in Redondo Beach, Calif.
"It is notable that we were able to meet the power demonstration goal with only seven laser chains, rather than the full eight chains we can accommodate. This shows the robustness of our industry-unique approach and the ability of our lasers to deliver predicted performance," Marmo emphasized. "Adding the eighth chain will increase laser power to 120kW."
The JHPSSL program is funded by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology; Office of the Secretary of Defense - High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office, Albuquerque, N.M.; Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.; and the Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va. Responsibility for program execution is assigned to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command / Army Forces Strategic Command in Huntsville, Ala.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.