South Korea to mass produce lasers that can take out drones at $1.50 a hit
South Korea to mass produce lasers that can take out drones at $1.50 a hit
South Korea is beginning the mass production of a low-cost laser weapon that has successfully shot down small drones during testing, the country’s key arms agency said Thursday.
South Korea is beginning the mass production of a low-cost laser weapon that has successfully shot down small drones during testing, the country’s key arms agency said Thursday.
The laser weapon, called Block-I, “can precisely strike small unmanned aerial vehicles and multicopters at close range,” a news release from South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said.
The release did not give a cost for the weapon, but said each shot fired would only cost about $1.50.
Imagery supplied by the agency appears to show a weapon around the size of a shipping container with a laser mounted on top and what appears to be a radar or tracking device mounted on one side of the platform.
They better send some to Ukraine.
Make Putler happy.
66It'd probably be great testing for them too.
28
Will they be mounted on sharks?
They seriously need to call the platform sharks.
63Best we can do are mutated sea bass
11Are they at least ill-tempered?
4
There is no doubt that lasers will play a bigger and bigger role in combat systems, especially in a layered air defense networks.
But it's dishonest how these articles only cite the cost of electricity. It would be like citing the cost of a single shell of artillery to imply that is the only expenditure when the system is used.
Just like a Howitzer, the parts on lasers experience wear and tear, but to replace them cost a hell of a lot more than a new barrel.
Yes, in the long-term lasers will be more cost-effective than ground to air missile interceptors*, but any reporting that is clearly trying to make an argument for cost savings, should have the integrity to get figures that factor in battlefield maintenance of those systems.
*When applicable. Lasers will not remove the need for any existing systems, but will provide a cost savings by providing additional options for the air defense system's operators.
38When discussing deterrents against drone swarms the cost per "round" is the correct metric....
16The cost per round is a lot more than just power generation when talking about lasers.
The wear on tear on lasers is a lot different than other systems and when the case is being made for their cost effectiveness they need to be factored in, instead of the highly misleading figures that only prices out electricity.
10Even in the very long term, loss of equipment to enemy fire is non-negligible during active combat, so you need to tack on the purchase cost in some manner.
In the shorter term you have to buy a 30 million dollar laser system, even if you'll eventually make it back.
5
Usually they do quote the cost per shell, not including rifle wear, she'll transport, oder wages, etc. Or missile, in case of patriot systems.
8What about the advantages of the logistics of those “rounds”. Seems like a huge savings.
3
What's the kW or MW class of laser? If it's too low, it could be ineffective against even tinfoil wrapped quad copters.
31Might still be powerful enough to blind the optics, which would effectively cripple them. Without a video feed neither FPV drones nor grenade-dropping ones would have the necessary precision to be effective.
11Wouldn't that cut it's communication though?
4Yeah I'm no light expert but can't they just make shilding and filters for this sort of attack vector?
3Depends on the wavelength. Standard mirrors don't always do mirror things at wavelengths far outside the visible spectrum.
Part of the advantages of UAVs is that you can deploy a lot of them cheaply with stuff you buy on eBay. While eBay does sell some of the more exotic mirrors for CO2 laser cutters (which are far-IR wavelengths), you couldn't buy a lot of them to cover a single drone. It'd cut into the cost advantage, and would also weigh it down a lot.
5Even if they can, it will decrease the payload somewhat, and as the lasers get better the shielding will have to get stronger.
It'll forever be a back and forth thing
2
Imagery supplied by the agency appears to show a weapon around the size of a shipping container with a laser mounted on top and what appears to be a radar or tracking device mounted on one side of the platform.
So, 30 million for the setup and deployment but 1.50 per drone. Plus it is huge and unweildy.
Gonna need a lot of drones to make that more cost effective than another drone with a stick or net, both of which have been effective in the defense of Ukraine.
lol
This is probably an early step towards a man portable setup so I'm just joking about the focus on the cost to fire.
21Plus it is huge and unweildy.
The US already has a DEW unit that fits in a UTV (Side by Side) for shooting down smaller drones.
The US also has a more powerful palletized version that fits in the bed of a pickup truck.
The South Koreans are just a few years behind is all.
3Lmao Ukraine is about to become devoid of birds
Any radar sensitive enough to pick up drones is going to have an insane number of false positives
1Modern radars can see way more than just size. You're right that there should still be a human in the loop, though.
2
Good, now give some to Ukraine.
19So would this potentially reset the battlefield and negate the disruptive changes drones had brought to it? Or does it just mean more drones and stronger drones?
10Probably a cat and mouse game
12I think it will just make drones more expensive as they put in systems to try and counter this tech.
2
Wait...
Are drones powered by kitties?
4I hope this works how it sounds. The development of fighter planes, missiles and bombs, and drones has pretty grossly given an edge to invading militaries, able to quickly enter territory and do tremendous amounts of damage, especially to civilian life.
Being a bulky, heavy weapon with a reliance on a lot of electricity should hopefully encourage this for defensive use, and if it can keep all those flying invaders in check this could be a boon against war.
3Being a bulky, heavy weapon with a reliance on a lot of electricity
The SK version is bulky and heavy because it's their 1st Gen however other countries already have versions that are significantly smaller, lighter, and fully mobile.
2Actually what im seeing from other countries are even larger and heavier technologies. I mean all of these can be mobilized as low speed ground vehicles, a far cry from the mobility and invasive potential of aircraft. Its the energy requirement thats the kicker, and the weight of batteries. Which is why we're only seeing this technology being deployed as stationary anti air defense. Its a nice bonus that lasers have to travel in a straight line so we dont have to worry about long range trajectory attacks like with ICBM's.
The only downside im seeing so far is surprisingly limited range hampering its ability to handle incoming supersonic targets.
1
How much for a miss?
2Well assuming one with explosives can take out a single person, they get a 10% accuracy (number pulled out of my ass), and a VSL (value of statistical life) of 1.5 million you get 150,000 USD.
Really throws off the cost function when the false negative penalty is a million times bigger.
2
This is the best summary I could come up with:
South Korea is beginning the mass production of a low-cost laser weapon that has successfully shot down small drones during testing, the country’s key arms agency said Thursday.
The laser weapon, called Block-I, “can precisely strike small unmanned aerial vehicles and multicopters at close range,” a news release from South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said.
Future versions could be developed to take out much bigger targets, including aircraft and ballistic missiles, which would be a potential “game changer,” according to the release.
DAPA will develop “a laser anti-aircraft weapon (Block-II) system with improved output and range compared to the current one,” the release said.
In Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere, small drones - some available off the shelf - have shown the ability to disable or destroy multimillion-dollar pieces of military hardware, including tanks.
Earlier this year, Britain showed off a new laser weapon that its military says could deliver lethal missile or aircraft defense at around $13 a shot.
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2Should have watched this
1I hope it works well
1Fiber laser, ceramic disc laser, CO2 laser?
1