NAVY Reveals Plans to Place Laser Weapons on Humvees
We reported a month ago that the Air Force announced plans to have star wars type laser weapons on US fighters by 2014. Today, the Office of Naval Research revealed its latest energy weapons plan for: vehicle-mounted lasers that shoot down drones, helicopters, and various types of aircraft. Dubbed Ground-Based Air Defense Directed Energy On-The-Move, the project is offering private groups up to $400,000 each to develop such a system that blasts at full power for 120 seconds and juices back up to 80 percent after a 20 minute charge. The beam is required to pack a punch of at least 25 kilowatts, while the ability to ratchet up to 50 kilowatts is optional. Given that kind of power, Wired points out that making such a solution fit in a Humvee is going to be a feat — especially when the Navy says it can’t weigh more than 2,000 pounds and must fit entirely within a vehicle’s cargo area. If you have blueprints for a jeep-mounted laser in your basement now is the time? You’ll have till 2 PM on April 26th to qualify for the federal funding. So far 35 schools including MIT, Cornell, and dozens of private and military contractors have applied.
[Image credit: Official U.S. Navy Imagery,
