The US’ process of deploying laser weapons proceeds slower than expected. According to the former director of the Missile Defense Agency and executive vice president at consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, Trey Obering who spoke to a military-focused website that the use of laser weapons was targeted instead of million-dollar missile interceptors in counterattack operations, but the process is slower than expected. The main reason for this is the different needs of the forces in terms of wavelength, frequency, cooling capabilities, size and power and the lack of necessary funding.
In his report, Obering said the US Navy was the closest to deploying laser weapons and the Air Force follows the Navy. USN has deployed an operational laser weapon prototype to USS Ponce which takes the service a step forward, but it is still difficult for the air force to overcome the obstacles although it is one step ahead in research and development. The main issue is the weight and size of the weapons, according to the report. The difficulty will be to get enough power for the size of the weapon should it be mounted to the aircraft. For the Air Force, the challenge is size, weight and power,” Obering said. “They need to be able to use them in either pods under the wings, or on unmanned drones.” Despite having adequate technology, the lack of funding is another obstacle to the forces.
Despite these obstacles, the Air Force is expected to conduct laser weapons tests on F-15 Eagle this summer.
