J. Aerosp. Technol. Manag., São José dos Campos, Vol.6, N
o
3, pp.231-236, Jul.-Sep., 2014
ABSTRACT: The operational implications of high power
laser weapons are constantly growing in countries with
advanced military technological level. As well as on progress
in integration with air, land and naval platforms, this paper
discusses the necessary development and implementation
of the operational concepts into Armed Forces, which
should target orientation in the improvement process of
the appropriate warfare material, i.e. the laser, as well
as remodeling the existing combat’s doctrine. Finally, we
highlight some capabilities and limitations inherent in the
technology of lasers and present some applications in
defense and attack operations enabled by the implementation
of laser weapons.
KEYWORDS: Weapons systems, Laser, Operational
applications, Photonics.
High Power Laser Weapons and
Operational Implications
Nelson Alex Roso
1
, Romero da Costa Moreira
1
, José Edimar Barbosa Oliveira
1
INTRODUCTION
The experimental demonstration of the first laser was
performed by eodore Maiman on May 16, 1960, and preceded
numerous scientific and technological areas, which have
provided great advances in telecommunications, instrumentation
andarmaments industries, among others (Hecht, 2010).
In Brazil, it is noteworthy that the formation of human
resources and the development of research on laser within the
Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia Aeroespacial (DCTA) —
former Centro Tecnológico da Aeroespacial (CTA), are performed
by the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA) and the Instituto
de Estudos Avançados (IEAV) for over thirty years. In these
institutes, signicant results have been obtained in the areas of
high power laser (HPL), optical sensors and communications
links with optical ber, among others (Monteiro etal., 1994).
History reveals that, in areas of defense interest, conventional
weapons have dominated warfare for centuries. Nowadays,
the primacy of cartridge is replacing the projectiles for HPL,
as technological advances in photonics introduce systems
capable of destroying materials hardness, as well as protecting
centers of Command and Control with early warning systems
integrating lasers. Projectiles, e.g., mortars and missiles, are
passive of interception and destruction by lasers that concentrate
large amounts of electromagnetic energy (EME) in very small
areas, destroying control systems of guided weapons or causing
previous detonation.
The coexistence of conventional weapons systems and
concentrated EME weapons is not nearly over, since these
complement one another. Emerging possibilities of available
technological resources require the fighters, scientists and
commanders to have a comprehension of their implications,
doi: 10.5028/jatm.v6i3.342
1. Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica – São José dos Campos/SP – Brazil
Author for correspondence: Nelson Alex Roso | Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica | Praça Marechal Eduardo Gomes 50, São José dos Campos / SP |
CEP:12.228-901 – Brazil | Email: nelsonalexroso@gmail.com
Received: 10/03/2013 | Accepted: 06/29/2014
