Star Wars Project in South Korea will use anti-aircraft laser weapons against drones

In brief: South Korea is set to become the first country to deploy and operate anti-aircraft laser weapons, which it will use to shoot drones from North Korea out of the sky. In what seems like a fitting name, the program is called the "Star Wars project."

Announced by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the laser weapons were developed by the South Korean military with Hanwha Aerospace Co.

DAPA explained that the laser anti-aircraft weapon destroys targets by directly irradiating them with a laser light source generated from an optical fiber. It can strike small unmanned aerial vehicles, aka drones, and multi-copters at close range.

The beams of light, which last 10 to 20 seconds, can burn out engines, circuit boards, or other electrical equipment in drones.

South Korea's laser weapon

The agency said the lasers are invisible, silent, and require no ammunition. All they need is electricity to operate. They're also cheap to use, costing 2,000 won (about $1.50) per shot. While not a laser weapon, the US Navy's abandoned rail gun project was estimated to cost around $25,000 per round.

An agency official noted that countries such as the US and Israel are ahead of South Korea when it comes to developing laser weapons, but their focus has been on high-powered beams designed to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles. South Korea aims to eventually develop similar laser weapons of its own.

Five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea in December 2022, leading to fighter jets and attack helicopters scrambling to shoot them down.

The laser weapon is still in the prototype stage, but DAPA says it has signed an agreement with Hanwha Aerospace Co. that will see the system put into mass production.

Lee Sang-yoon, a DAPA official, told AFP news that Block-I, the first laser system, will be put into operational deployment by the military this year, though some experts believe it could take as long as five years before the lasers will be on the frontlines shooting down drones.

Permalink to story:

Star Wars Project in South Korea will use anti-aircraft laser weapons against drones

Certainly not "an elegant weapon for a more civilized age"

Click to expand...

wiyosaya said:

How so?

The tech in this is pretty sophisticated especially if it employs phase conjugation of the output from multiple fibers, or heck, even if its output is derived from a single fiber.

Its unfortunate that humanity needs weapons at all, however. IMO, that Humanity still needs and chooses to use weapons just goes to show that humanity, itself, is far from civilized. Humanity is always fighting about who occupies the top of the hill. And if you are at the top, watch out for the jealous person next to you. It is long past time for Rodney King's "Can't we all just get along?" Until that happens, Humanity, IMO, will be not much more advanced, even with all its modern tech, than the average cave man.

Click to expand...