cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4825742
- The high-powered laser is faster and cheaper than traditional missiles or cannons
- An undisclosed NATO country is expected to receive the weapon in the next 18 months
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Australia is helping to take the world into the era of Star Wars-style combat.
A Canberra-made laser is about to become NATO’s newest frontline defence against enemy drones, in a deal experts say could transform the future of warfare.
The high-powered laser, nicknamed Apollo after the Greek God of Light, can destroy up to 20 drones a minute, at a cost of $1 per shot, which is faster and cheaper than traditional missiles or cannons.
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A generator capable of powering that kind of equipment will definitely come with a price tag of some description, but in the not even very long run it’ll be cheaper, because it is a mass produced widely available piece of industrial equipment, and uses a relatively inexpensive consumable. The expensive bit here is the laser itself, powering it is dirt cheap in comparison. The laser will draw up to 150kW of power, a diesel generator in that power range will burn roundabout 40l of diesel an hour under full load. That’s way cheaper (and more compact) than even a relatively small amount of ammunition you could use for shooting at drones instead of frying them with an enormous laser, and a dude carrying jerrycans working at a leisurely pace could easily keep it resupplied.