Warfare at the speed of light

[TekDragon]

This is a must read:

Link (http://www.oaklandtribune.com/cda/article/print/0,1674,82%257E1865%257E1709759,00.html)

Are military computers and commanders ready for entirely automated weapons that deliver instant, lethal blasts of energy and can be retargeted in seconds? Lasers under testing for air defense already offer that capability. Fully automated firing on offensive targets is a short step behind.

"When you develop the capability to track, target and destroy something in a second, then the temptation to remove humans from the decision cycle becomes very great," said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer at the Lexington Institute, an Arlington, Va.-based defense think tank.

It gets really sweet in the end when they start explaining the effeciency of solid-state laser systems.

[1024]

i hate your country!

ZAP!

[Mtx]

The year 2020 news.

Today the US Laser defense system destroyed flights over the US. It appears that a hacker had broken into the defensive laser systems and used the lasers to destroy air flights. When asked why the hacker replied "I thought I was playing the coolest videogame in the world. Did you see how I sawed the wing off that 747 with my laser and sent it hurdling to the ground? That was so freakin cool. I didn't know those flights were real till after I vaporized Air Force one and the game didn't end."

[Setari]

The year 2020 news.

Today the US Laser defense system destroyed flights over the US. It appears that a hacker had broken into the defensive laser systems and used the lasers to destroy air flights. When asked why the hacker replied "I thought I was playing the coolest videogame in the world. Did you see how I sawed the wing off that 747 with my laser and sent it hurdling to the ground? That was so freakin cool. I didn't know those flights were real till after I vaporized Air Force one and the game didn't end."
:rofl: Yet definitely a possibility...

[simba]

I saw something on discovery where they had lasers, they allready have 1 that can destroy artillery shells b4 they hit the ground, lasers are the future.
Its awesome wot they can archive.

[Sputty]

I blind people with them from my bedroom. And then I look at the people in the neighboor's pool through my binoculars

[DramaticFanatic]

Star Wars coming to life.....

[Ait'al]

They can be secured pretty easily from that if designed well and you put people on patrol And put them in places that arent far from lets say normal military activity. Or create some public known system and protect them by putting htem in hte public and using public pride, and still doing the above. And they wouldnt put them on a public network they creat a new one thats hard to tampar with and has detction system and send people out to shoot anyone who tampers with it. Id love to help htem design one policy and all. ^^

[TheAngelOfWar]

Will U.S. forces fire lasers on humans? International treaty forbids the use of lasers for blinding people. But there is no legal ban on striking humans. U.S. Special Operations Command wants to load a medium-power laser alongside artillery and miniguns on a future version of the AC-130 gunships that since Vietnam have been a mainstay of special forces attacks on ground targets. The laser's power could blow tires and ignite gas tanks, but wouldn't be lethal for tanks or armored vehicles.

"It would be a very long-range, ultra-accurate sniper rifle," suggests John Pike, a weapons expert and director of GlobalSecurity.org.


a .50 cal sniper with no kick. yeah baby.
and if we cant use lasers on humans, might as well not use bullets...

[Exano]

Since lasers are just one shot and your instantly a pile of dust, i'd think it would be the other way around ;)

[Nimbus]

Instantly a pile of dust? I think not. Lasers are very localized and accurate. If you shoot somebody with a high powered laser it's going to put a hole through them, not evaporate them.

I'm fairly certain that hacking into the military system to access the laser weaponry isn't going to be like hacking into your neighbors PC. Hacking into government systems is difficult enough as it is and this is going to be better protected than most. Even if somebody DID hack into the system, they wouldn't know how to use it. It'd be easier and probably more damaging to steal a tank.

[Mtx]

A laser would probably light someone on fire if its beam wasn't strong enough. At least it isn't messy. Hell it even burns the wound so it stops bleeding.

Remind me to invest in EMP technology and some new AK-47s. Wait till you fuckers are laser dependant, EMP your ass, and then own you with old AKs. ;)

Hmm.. wouldn't it be a bitch if your enemy had lasers as well? "Today a US lost 100 billion in stealth bombers after a laser shot them down."

War.. eh war.. just isn't what it used to be.

[Hamma]

The year 2020 news.

Today the US Laser defense system destroyed flights over the US. It appears that a hacker had broken into the defensive laser systems and used the lasers to destroy air flights. When asked why the hacker replied "I thought I was playing the coolest videogame in the world. Did you see how I sawed the wing off that 747 with my laser and sent it hurdling to the ground? That was so freakin cool. I didn't know those flights were real till after I vaporized Air Force one and the game didn't end."
Indeed :rofl:

[Nimbus]

A laser would probably light someone on fire if its beam wasn't strong enough. At least it isn't messy. Hell it even burns the wound so it stops bleeding.

Remind me to invest in EMP technology and some new AK-47s. Wait till you fuckers are laser dependant, EMP your ass, and then own you with old AKs. ;)

Hmm.. wouldn't it be a bitch if your enemy had lasers as well? "Today a US lost 100 billion in stealth bombers after a laser shot them down."

War.. eh war.. just isn't what it used to be.

I suppose it would light flammeable things on fire wouldn't it? Yeah, they do instantly cauterize wounds. If you were injured but not killed you would't really have to worry much about infection or blood loss. Lasers are relatively painless too. They do laser tonsil surgery without any painkillers.
Once EMP technology comes about I'm willing to bet most laser systems will be shielded.
The problem with using lasers as weaponry lies in it's very nature. It's STILL just light and it suffers from all the typical problems. Lasers have terrible degredation over distance. Thats been one of the military's biggest problems with laser weaponry. It takes such incredible amounts of power to create a beam strong enough to hit anything at range that it's still not that viable. Another problem is that it's easily reflected, refracted and split.

[Ait'al]

We actually already have emp bombs.

[Mtx]

Yeah, what do you think really caused that huge power outage? ;)

[Mr1337Duck]

So... they could just put reflective stuff on their vehicles and body armor and we'd be fine?

[Bighoss]

So... they could just put reflective stuff on their vehicles and body armor and we'd be fine?

shut up your ruining everything!

[Squeeky]

The year 2020 news.

Today the US Laser defense system destroyed flights over the US. It appears that a hacker had broken into the defensive laser systems and used the lasers to destroy air flights. When asked why the hacker replied "I thought I was playing the coolest videogame in the world. Did you see how I sawed the wing off that 747 with my laser and sent it hurdling to the ground? That was so freakin cool. I didn't know those flights were real till after I vaporized Air Force one and the game didn't end."

:rofl:

Best post by MTX yet :lol:. I may...actually be starting to like MTX. :scared:

[MonkeyPox]

actually if you were wearing mirrors, I think they would still get really really hot, and hurt you, I dunno though, btw, MTX, lolroflmgdaoadlotfwpf

[TekDragon]

So... they could just put reflective stuff on their vehicles and body armor and we'd be fine?

Yes, they could put reflective armor on the tanks. It would, however, be heavy. Additionally, our current armor involves protection vs ballistic weapons. Putting reflective armor on it would involve an entirely different system.

It MIGHT be possible to do both (reflective plates that blow outward when hit with a ballistic weapon) but it would be very heavy and very expencive. As a rule of thumb, most of the enemies we fight do not have high tech, high budget tanks.

Even China, with it's latest boosts to restructuring the military, is EXTREMELY unlikely to invest in reflective technology.

----------------------------------

On the flip side, I imagine a fog machine would be just as good at preventing laser attacks. Both due to the problems with targeting and the diffusing of the light.

[EarlyDawn]

I suppose it would light flammeable things on fire wouldn't it? Yeah, they do instantly cauterize wounds. If you were injured but not killed you would't really have to worry much about infection or blood loss. Lasers are relatively painless too. They do laser tonsil surgery without any painkillers.
Once EMP technology comes about I'm willing to bet most laser systems will be shielded.
The problem with using lasers as weaponry lies in it's very nature. It's STILL just light and it suffers from all the typical problems. Lasers have terrible degredation over distance. Thats been one of the military's biggest problems with laser weaponry. It takes such incredible amounts of power to create a beam strong enough to hit anything at range that it's still not that viable. Another problem is that it's easily reflected, refracted and split.Indeed. The beams tend to lose coherency over a distance.

[Kaikou]

Star Wars coming to life.....

Actually.. It wouldn't really be like star wars. If you were looking at the battlefield from far away you'd just see targets exploding..

That'd be awesome though. I'd join the army if I was going to be equipped with a laser gun :D

Lasers are most definitely the future though. They are far too efficient to be overlooked. I'd imagine we're all going to see lasers implemented into the military within our lifetimes. It'll definitely make the US a country that others don't want to mess with.

[Mtx]

Yes, they could put reflective armor on the tanks. It would, however, be heavy. Additionally, our current armor involves protection vs ballistic weapons. Putting reflective armor on it would involve an entirely different system.



We need Glitterboy armor on our tanks.

[Spider]

We need Glitterboy armor on our tanks.

:rofl:

[Nimbus]

actually if you were wearing mirrors, I think they would still get really really hot, and hurt you, I dunno though, btw, MTX, lolroflmgdaoadlotfwpf

Not really.
Have any of you ever used a solar oven? It's like a large bowl lined with aluminum foil with food in the center of it. The reflected light focuses on the food and cooks it, although the oven it self doesn't really heat up.

Science Lesson: Light causes things to heat up because light crashes into the object, making the atoms move, the atoms move the atoms next them and so on in a chain reaction. The more light slams into them, the faster the atoms move and the hotter it gets. However, only light that is absorbed causes this. If it reflects off then it causes much less motion. This is why white clothing is a lot cooler in sunlight than black. White clothing reflects most light, therefore it doesn't heat up much. Black absorbs ALL light therefore it heats up a lot. A mirror reflects even more light than white does. You are going to have to focus that laser on a mirror for a long time before it burns through the backing. Meanwhile, the laser is bouncing off at full power in another direction.

However, mirored armor is HORRIBLY impractical for miliatary purposes. It's going to be heavy, expensive and most likely easily broken. Ballistic weapons are absolutely going to desroy it. Plus, you'll have to keep it clean and reflective. Lets see the military do that while trying to move quickly. Lastly, Mirrors are a beacon. Mirror armored vehicles and infantry are going to stick out like a bright red flashing target.

[ZionsFire]

(Me) I hate you. ZAP!(Other guy) Ouch man that hurt!(Me) WTF!? you arent dead? ZAP!(Other Guy) MAN! Stop it! It's starting to become hard to breathe!(Me) Dont those holes hurt?(Other guy) It sorta stings ya know like the beamer on PS.(Me) Ah, well then....HEADSHOT! ZAP! (Other Guy) ........

[Everay]

.....okay....but anyways, there already is a laser weapon in deployment, or at least its already declassified, it can shoot down a artillery shell in mid flight(already mentioned) and another, that is mounted in the nose of a 747 type craft, and uses chemical processes to created the energy for the beam, designed to take out incoming missles. and those are just the declassifieds, i couldnt imagine what is classified