Laser and Microwave Weapons - Directed-Energy Weapon Programs, Potential, and Issues

While technology has continued to evolve, most weapon systems modern militaries use operate on old principles. A artillery piece is a world removed from a Napoleonic cannon, but the idea of detonating a charge behind a projectile in a tube in order to propel it in the direction of something you don't like - that remains the same.

For decades, Governments have also been investing in trying to develop systems that operate in very different ways - including directed energy weapons like lasers and High Powered Microwave weapons (HPM). And for decades - very little emerged in terms of deployable, destructive systems.

But on a battlefield increasingly dominated by cheap and precise threats such as loitering munitions, FPV drones or naval kamikaze drones, there is more pressure than ever for forces to leverage recent technological developments to turn concepts into functional, deployable tools for their armed forces.

In this episode, we look at the concepts behind Directed Energy Weapons, ask what advantages and disadvantages they might have compared to more conventional equivalents, and what how militaries might use them going forward.

Patreon:

Caveats & Comments:
All normal caveats and comments apply.

In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and should not be relied upon to inform financial or other similar decisions.

I have also not sought to provide a fulsome explanation of the science behind the operation of HEL and HPM systems. For those interested, I would strongly recommend further reading and I will include some potential sources in the source list below.

Relevant Reading (to added 20/02/2024 once I have access to my research notes and materials again)

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Intro
00:01:10 — What Am I Talking About?
00:12:27 — The Directed Energy Promise
00:17:42 — Ground Applications
00:25:48 — Naval Applications
00:40:51 — Aerospace Applications
00:47:00 — Countermeasures and limitations
01:02:10 — Development challenges and risks
01:06:43 — Channel Update

[PerunAU]

This video was recorded produced under pretty austere travel conditions but I hope you enjoy the way it came out in the end. I will have a more fulsome channel update next week if all goes well, and will be updating the source and reading list with, well, my sources and reading list as soon as I have access to it again tomorrow.

Hope you enjoy, apologies for pushing this back a day, and I hope to see you all again later this week.

[Jamos]

I think 5-10% of the US defense budget goes to acronym brainstorming sessions.

[defective]

'Destroying the vehicle is a pretty reliable way to take out the optics'

The Russians have developed an escape mechanism to allow their turret optics to escape the destruction of the hull.

[macattackmicmac]

Laser Physicist here, and a couple of comments.
Firstly laser weapons may not necessarily effect thermally. There are other mechanisms based on much shorter pulses which come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages.
Secondly is that in cost per shot calculations, the cost of the optics is typically neglected. Optical systems tend to degrade over time, and depending on the exact nature of the system this can be significant. Another aspect which plays into this is how susceptible the optics are to damage if they get dusty or dirty, which if combat footage is to be believed, military vehicles often are.

[euansmith]

Terminator, "Phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range."
Pawnshop Owner, "Hey, just what you see, pal!"

[furiousscotsman]

"The sun is a deadly laser" what a great frikn callback Perun 11/10 sir.

[sned_music]

I LOVE that the Emperor's flashlights got an honourable mention 😂

[Keln]

There should be an award for most creative way to cram a military acronym in a cool sounding word

[xKruzr]

>Perun tells us we have to wait another day for an update
>Perun shows up the next day with FRICKIN' LASER BEAMS
... your terms are acceptable.

[wh_am_]

I love just how far the US goes to make everything have a cool acronym.

[jimsvideos]

"How did you get that mirror so shiny?"
"...Polish?"
"Proszę mi wybaczyć. Jak uzyskałeś tak lśniące lustro?"

[Dr_le_Quack]

Hi Perun, I am a microwave engineer so I can comment a bit about the efficacy of microwaves vs higher frequency laser systems. Caveat is that I have very little experience with optics so I won't talk too much about that stuff. One of the main advantages of lower frequency radiation in comparison to high frequency is that he amount of energy lost on the way to the target is much lower for low frequency radiation. In simple terms, a microwave system and a laser system with the same output that both illuminate a target at the same distance, the microwave radiation will contain more energy than the laser. This is offset by the fact that the beamwidth of the laser is much tighter than the microwave system but it is a significant contributing factor. The next advantage of microwave systems is their ability to operate in cloudy environments where direct line of sight to the target might be obscured by water vapour clouds or dust. As you can imagine, not every situation will be in ideal operating conditions so this is a really useful feature. The last one I would like to just mention is that generating high power microwaves is very easy and cheap with modern technology, especially when you don't have to worry about the harmonic content of your signal which I assume you don't care about when trying to destroy something.

None of this is to say microwaves are superior to lasers in this regard but they have clearly defined benefits over lasers and weaknesses such as actually getting the microwave energy to interact with whatever you want to damage.

[hestan]

> Warhammer fans have power axe, power sword and power fist.
> Perun fans have powerpoint.

Edit : damn ! Thanks for the likes

[joaoaugusto]

One day I will understand why I must watch these weekly PowerPoint presentations. Today is just not that day. Keep up the great content.

[Lungomono]

"(...)We're raiding Toy'r'us" for weapons of war" - Perun.
Love it. On the spot again.

[mrpicky]

-general we have new super weapon
-OK but what it's vulnerabilities?
-Clouds

[ExE]

Perun the sole channel on youtube where I don't know if the VPN Ad Read is an Ad Read or an actual part of the subject matter.

[maegnis]

Praise be. Our sermons have been answered. The Omnissiah has graced us with another Perun banger.

[Folgeantrag]

As a Warhammer Nerd i am so happy that you presented the almighty Imperial Army Lasgun to a broader audiance

[arwedrv]

I question the quality of Private Internet Access' performance. If they were any good, surely they'd be Sergeant Internet Access by now.