Laser Proves its Air Defence Capabilities
- a further major step towards a laser weapon system.
- a new “pooling and sharing” capability
Over 50 guests, including representatives from the German Ministry of Defence, the Bundeswehr, the BAAINBw, the European Defence Agency, the Federal Criminal Police Office, the GSG 9 unit of the Federal Police Force and various institutions and businesses, were present to witness the successful results.
For the first time, MBDA Germany high-energy laser was used to demonstrate the complete deployment sequence in countering rockets, artillery and mortar shells (C-RAM). Using 40 kW of laser power, the laser demonstrator successfully acted on airborne targets at a range of over 2,000 m.
The laser demonstrator was integrated in a transportable container. During the tests, the illumination and effect laser was pre-targeted using a radar (SPEXER™ 2000) and an IR optronics system (MEOS II) supplied by Cassidian. A multi-stage control system, incorporating an in-house developed image processing system, was used to lock onto the target at close range.
Used artillery shell models towed in a wide variety of flight paths at an altitude of 1,000 m served as targets.The tests were conducted at the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Techology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) WTD 52 test site in Oberjettenberg, Germany.
“I’m pleased that our progress is receiving so much attention from the customer as well as from others in the sector. With the flexible application possibilities of laser technology, we are not only addressing all armed services, but also attracting interest from outside the Bundeswehr,” noted Dr. W. Stammler, MBDA Germany’s Director of Operations. “Now we want to optimise the system step by step, increase its power while making it more compact and demonstrate its various system applications.”
Source : MBDA
