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| Europe |
| Rheinmetall demos laser that can shoot down drones |
| 2013-01-08 |
| A laser weapons system that can shoot down two drones at a distance of over a mile has been demonstrated by Rheinmetall Defence. The German defence firm used the high-energy laser equipment to shoot fast-moving drones at a distance. The system, which uses two laser weapons, was also used to cut through a steel girder a kilometre away. The company plans to make the laser weapons system mobile and to integrate automatic cannon. The 50kW laser weapons system used radar and optical systems to detect and track two incoming drones, the company said. The nose-diving drones were flying at 50 metres per second, and were shot down when they reached a programmed fire sector. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #5 Lasers energy can be made to pulse and chip away the mirror until it is blasted away a piece at a time, if the material even looks like a mirror to the laser energy. |
| Posted by: gorb 2013-01-08 20:53 |
| #4 The REAL challenge is not shooting them down, but rather spoofing the guidance system and flying them back to Indiana. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-01-08 14:43 |
| #3 Put it on the forehead of a shark... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2013-01-08 14:18 |
| #2 Put the laser on the drone. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2013-01-08 13:22 |
| #1 So what's the defence for drones? What sort of protection could a mirrored surface provide? |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2013-01-08 12:55 |