US Army receives laser air defense system

On August 9, 2023, it became known that the US Army received a new laser installation, which is planned to be used as an air defense system.

We are talking about a 50 kW laser based on the Stryker armored combat vehicle manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems. The US military intends to find out how a new type of system can be used in battle along with traditional kinetic weapons. To do this, it is planned to conduct a series of field tests with modeling of various situations.

New U.S. Army Laser Mount

What we don't yet know about directed energy systems is how to combat battlefield lasers, and how to integrate kinetic and non-kinetic systems such as laser installations and our traditional air defense missiles into combat space, "said Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch, director of the Army's Office for Accelerated Development and Development of Critical Ground Forces Technologies (RCCTO).

Rush and his team are tasked with overseeing three programs to develop directed energy systems. One of them is a short-range laser air defense system created as part of the Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD) initiative. It is this program that provides for the installation of a 50 kW laser on the chassis of the Stryker wheeled armored personnel carrier. The system is designed to destroy enemy missiles, as well as to combat unmanned aerial vehicles of different classes.

One of the problems associated with the use of laser weapons, as noted, can be the lack of components and the inability to repair or even normal maintenance in the field. However, in the future, such systems can give a huge advantage over traditional kinetic installations.^[1]

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