North Korea, Iran, and Palestinian mortar enthusiasts; hah!

[Glorious Homeland]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10682693?ls

Successfully demo'd anti-aircraft/missile/mortar lasers. Much like those that appeared in Command and Conquer: Generals. I think it's a wonderful step forwards; if the technology can be refined, mortar or missile bombardments may become obsolete against defensive laser systems. Imagine the implications that North Korean artillery could never threaten Seoul? Or Iran's missile ambitions need not threaten anyone? And Israel finally hasn't an excuse to invade Palestinian land to stop missile bombardments!

[Kalibarr]

Meh, they'll just find ways around it just like any other technology.

[Glorious Homeland]

Unlikely, those groups can't easily out-tech it.

[Yenke-Bin]

Meh, they'll just find ways around it just like any other technology.

Pretty much.

[Tokos]

This sounds like iron-forging or horse-taming… whoever gets it first, gains supremacy.

[Kalibarr]

3 billion-dollar lasers. Great, you're defended. 40 thousand-dollar missiles. Oh shit.

so you wouldn't wear a Kevlar Vest unless it were cheaper than the bullets shot at you?

[Tokos]

3 billion-dollar lasers. Great, you're defended. 40 thousand-dollar missiles. Oh shit.

It'll get cheaper over time. Most things do. Iron weapons were hellishly rare at first.

[Greed and Death]

3 billion-dollar lasers. Great, you're defended. 40 thousand-dollar missiles. Oh shit.

We could always defeat it with the 250 dollar helmet, sadly the solider rarely survives.

[Greed and Death]

3 billion-dollar lasers. Great, you're defended. 40 thousand-dollar missiles. Oh shit.

It'll get cheaper over time. Most things do. Iron weapons were hellishly rare at first.

The reason Iron weapons were rare was because it was difficult to work Iron at first.The ore was always abundant which is why once it became easy to work Iron into weapons Iron became the metal of choice for armaments.

[Southern Patriots]

Unlikely, those groups can't easily out-tech it.

Heard that one before.

[Delator]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10682693?ls

Successfully demo'd anti-aircraft/missile/mortar lasers. Much like those that appeared in Command and Conquer: Generals. I think it's a wonderful step forwards; if the technology can be refined, mortar or missile bombardments may become obsolete against defensive laser systems. Imagine the implications that North Korean artillery could never threaten Seoul? Or Iran's missile ambitions need not threaten anyone? And Israel finally hasn't an excuse to invade Palestinian land to stop missile bombardments!

SAMs were already pushing manned combat aircraft towards obsolecence. This is another step closer.

[Ancient and Holy Terra]

Didn't America and Israel do something like this with THEL or Nautilus or something a decade ago?

[Brandenburg-Altmark]

This technology is a money sink. The cost of improving your warheads to be able to bypass defenses will always be far lower than the cost of improving the effectiveness of your defenses, so the person working on "shields" will always be at a disadvantage.

[Aelosia]

What if people start covering aircrafts and missiles with mirrors? Or just making them very shiny shiny?

[Brandenburg-Altmark]

What if people start covering aircrafts and missiles with mirrors? Or just making them very shiny shiny?

It's prohibitively expensive and usually the lasers are designed to not be tricked by most things as simplistic as that.

[Person012345]

What if people start covering aircrafts and missiles with mirrors? Or just making them very shiny shiny?

as it said in the article, a shiny material becomes less shiny as it heats up.

And glass is not a suitable material for airplanes.

[Mostly armless]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10682693?ls

Successfully demo'd anti-aircraft/missile/mortar lasers. Much like those that appeared in Command and Conquer: Generals. I think it's a wonderful step forwards; if the technology can be refined, mortar or missile bombardments may become obsolete against defensive laser systems. Imagine the implications that North Korean artillery could never threaten Seoul? Or Iran's missile ambitions need not threaten anyone? And Israel finally hasn't an excuse to invade Palestinian land to stop missile bombardments!

It's a sad day when the military start copying a computer game

[Aelosia]

What if people start covering aircrafts and missiles with mirrors? Or just making them very shiny shiny?

as it said in the article, a shiny material becomes less shiny as it heats up.

And glass is not a suitable material for airplanes.

"as developers discovered in the 1960s when trying to target Russian Mig aircraft - a reflective surface can negate much of the laser's effectiveness."

The developers also said that.

C'mon, they can always discard mirrors for some shinier material.

[Brandenburg-Altmark]

What if people start covering aircrafts and missiles with mirrors? Or just making them very shiny shiny?

as it said in the article, a shiny material becomes less shiny as it heats up.

And glass is not a suitable material for airplanes.

"as developers discovered in the 1960s when trying to target Russian Mig aircraft - a reflective surface can negate much of the laser's effectiveness."

The developers also said that.

C'mon, they can always discard mirrors for some shinier material.

An F4 is an order of magnitude faster than a MiG, so you can't put much on the outside without risking the aerodynamics of the whole thing, and even then friction can be a problem. Still, I can see advancements in paint providing a slight edge.

[Ancient and Holy Terra]

Isn't there a frighteningly-long post somewhere around here on the realities and actual difficulties of countering lasers?

EDIT: Why yes, there most certainly is! Nice and extensive.

[Albrante]

Imagine the implications that North Korean artillery could never threaten Seoul? Or Iran's missile ambitions need not threaten anyone? And Israel finally hasn't an excuse to invade Palestinian land to stop missile bombardments!

Alas were it so simple, a military break through just triggers an equal and opposite military break through. Time for laser reflective RPGs...

[Ancient and Holy Terra]

Time for laser reflective RPGs...

*cough*

Ha! I'll just put mirrors on all of my stuff. Then your lasers won't work!

This is actually a rather common misconception. First of all, not all lasers operate in the visible spectrum, which means that a given mirror won't be 100% effective against all lasers.

Second, a mirror needs to have 100% efficiency for this to work well, and no mirror operates at 100% efficiency. Even laser-grade mirrors-- eg mirrors as good as the ones used in the laser itself-- won't work for this, because they don't try to absorb the full power of the beam and are just used to focus it.

Third, shining a laser pointer at your bathroom mirror is rather an order of magnitude away from what happens with a combat laser-- at least 100 KW (assuming your laser doesn't suck) is being focused on a tiny area.

Assuming you've done something impossible and created the perfect mirror, it still won't work. Anything at all on a mirror-- water, bugs, dust, fingerprints, the ice that forms on aircraft at high altitudes-- will absorb enough energy to instantly vaporize with the first few pulses, transferring heat and distortions and vibrations to the mirror. The glass will crack and shatter (or the material will distort, if it's not made of glass), and the mirror at that point becomes useless.

Also, obviously enough, covering something mostly with mirrors will make it's radar cross signature larger, which means it will be less stealthy.

[Barringtonia]

Enough of the m'f'ing lasers on the m'f'ing planes..

[Ancient and Holy Terra]

Enough of the m'f'ing lasers on the m'f'ing planes..

I agree. A cannon that launches snakes would be far more effective.

Not to mention infinitely more awesome.

[Albrante]

Time for laser reflective RPGs...

*cough*

Ha! I'll just put mirrors on all of my stuff. Then your lasers won't work!

This is actually a rather common misconception. First of all, not all lasers operate in the visible spectrum, which means that a given mirror won't be 100% effective against all lasers.

Second, a mirror needs to have 100% efficiency for this to work well, and no mirror operates at 100% efficiency. Even laser-grade mirrors-- eg mirrors as good as the ones used in the laser itself-- won't work for this, because they don't try to absorb the full power of the beam and are just used to focus it.

Third, shining a laser pointer at your bathroom mirror is rather an order of magnitude away from what happens with a combat laser-- at least 100 KW (assuming your laser doesn't suck) is being focused on a tiny area.

Assuming you've done something impossible and created the perfect mirror, it still won't work. Anything at all on a mirror-- water, bugs, dust, fingerprints, the ice that forms on aircraft at high altitudes-- will absorb enough energy to instantly vaporize with the first few pulses, transferring heat and distortions and vibrations to the mirror. The glass will crack and shatter (or the material will distort, if it's not made of glass), and the mirror at that point becomes useless.

Also, obviously enough, covering something mostly with mirrors will make it's radar cross signature larger, which means it will be less stealthy.

I said laser reflective not rpgs with mirrors on them.
If man can make a powerful laser then man can make a material that can resist said laser.