US Navy working to make drones laser-proof
By Donald Melanson 
posted August 4th 2010 8:46AM
posted August 4th 2010 8:46AM
No, you're not looking at a still from a purported UFO video. That's an unmanned drone that the US Navy recently shot down with a prototype laser weapon. While that test was a runaway success, it looks like the Navy is now already going the extra mile -- it's begun work on making its drones laser-proof to guard against such weapons eventually winding up in the wrong hands. That's still in the earliest stages, but the Navy has already recruited California-based Adsys Controls and Texas-based Nanohmics to work on the project, which will apparently allow drones to both spot laser weapons before they're fired and deploy countermeasures to avoid being tracked. Head on past the break to see what happens when a drone gets hit by one of the weapons.
Make the drone spin when the targetted area is too warm..
@joebrech How about just make the damn thing out of mirrors? problem solved; and the terrorists get to see their own faces before being laser'd in half. Win-Win if you ask me.
@MadJoe My thoughts exactly
@joebrech
Do a barrel roll!!
@Peppy Hare Only works on star fox... and for reheating meat in the microwave.
@joebrech What happened to the "Pew pew pew" sounds!!!!???
@MadJoe unlike popular belief if a laser is powerful enough it will cut through a mirror that laser looks powerful enough =P
@MadJoe Doesnt solve anything. Dust particles on your mirror coated drone will be superheated, turn into plasma and eventually burn into the mirror surface resulting in loss of reflective properties. Which in turn results in more and more absorbed energy until the thing goes *poof* anyway. Al you can do is delay the inevitable a bit. The same goes for "spinning" (good luck with that on a plane). That is also why they work on early detection countermeassures.
@MadJoe
I dont think these counter measures are developed for terrorists. These are more for nations with capabilities to create a laser based weapon. China / Russia etc
@Bahumbug Actually a mirror coating will work just fine. There is no need to handle the power of the kill laser. All you have to do is reflect the targeting laser. If the system can't lock on it can't kill you.
@MadJoe
Just hope no one has a weaponized x-ray laser or an extreme ultraviolet light (EUV) laser to fire at the drone since conventional metal coated mirrors absorb the radiation as opposed to reflect them at normal angles.
The only way to reflect x-rays or EUV light is to use materials that do don't absorb the radiation and if the angle of incidence is small or "grazing" the surface.
@canonsburg
No need to worry about EUV. EUV has huge propagation attenuation through air.
@Peppy Hare try a somersault
@MadJoe Those would be some pretty damn heavy mirrors to reflect a weaponised laser.
@joebrech
Build drone. Build lazer that can take out the drone. But the enemy might get that tech, so we must build a better drone that can withstand the lazer attack. But the enemy might get that tech, so we need to build a better lazer that can take out that drone. But...
Sounds like an expensive government defense contract that figured out how to keep the cash rolling in.
@Robhimself
And gravity in space.
Maybe they should develop counter measures to more common/conventional weapons first.
@o TINY o
There countries other then the US developing lasers for so it's probably to protect against these.
@o TINY o
It's called perpetual spending. Create a problem and offer the solution.
After coming up with a solution they will have to make a laser weapon that bypasses whatever protection is used against lasers. And so on.
@o TINY o AK-47's still work against drones, right?
@BigD145 - not if the drone is flying higher than 400 meters (max effective range of an AK-47)
If "the wrong hands" already have laser weapons, should we really be that worried they'll get our drones?
@CRA1G
I don't understand don't you want drones the to have defences?
@CRA1G It's not really about the wrong hands getting a hold of the weapons, it's about other countries developing their own versions of it and the US needing a way to defend against that.
But of course if a country can develop their own laser weaponry, they can probably also develop their own anti laser defence on their aircraft as well and thus everyone is back to equilibrium again.
@CRA1G Exactly, what happens when these laser proof drones get hijacked? Then we will have to use conventional weapons against them. If that proves ineffective we then can't use your new prototype laser weapons against them since we made them all laser proof. Where does it end?
@EroThraX Thanks for explaining my point. Since drones are probably easier to engineer and build than a surface-to-air laser gun is, if our enemies already have the latter, then they probably also have the former.
Wouldn't it be better if they don't develop the laser as a weapon to begin with? the US is probably the only country doing this at the moment anyway :P
@waysiong
Well I hear that the Saudi's are investing heavily in a laser based missile defence system in case the Israel and Iran let loose. I don't know if this is independent or they intend to buy form the US but either way the Americans will probably want to reserve the right to fly drones over the area.
@waysiong You're living in a cave if you think the US is the ONLY country investing in laser weapons!
@quiik4u so which country is making (or trying i guess) them?
Poor Drone :(
Needs more sharks with lasers on their heads. Its shark week people think bigger!!
@Robhimself
Tthey can try to say otherwise, but we all know it's the real reason for the defense.
@Robhimself
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081017183932/phineasandferb/images/9/9b/Shark_with_laser_beam.jpg
It has begun.
@Robhimself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrB2_zqJQJU
A shark's gotta do what a shark's gotta do.
Laser Technician: Look at it burn! This is great!
Drone Technician: Look at it burn! This is horrible!
Aah, perspective.
Hmmm. Make the outside of the drone with a highly reflective, mirror-like finish? Then laser beams would just be reflected, maybe?
Wait a second... if they do succeed in making the drone capable of withstanding THIS laser, won't they just make ANOTHER laser capable of shooting it down again?
@Nilithius
Quite funny really, it seems as though the US is now in an arms race against itself.
Use mirrors. Duh
Do a barrel roll!
Skynet: make our drones laser proof plz
Why not just use evasive pattern delta 5?
Or alternatively, just stop bombing foreign countries for their oil and the US won't need to use drones at all.
and ... what happens when this countermeasure fall in the wrong hands ?
@nevor
Then the US military will have to spend billions more making counter-countermesures.
Make the bottom of the drone a reflective surface (mirror). Then you can actually use them to reflect the laser on another target. heh ;-)
They probably will use some kind of funky mirror thing, but it isn't as easy as it sounds. As I understand it, regular old mirrors wouldn't reflect enough of the laser's energy to stop the mirror itself from burning up.