Rheinmetall Defence has successfully completed field trials of the new 50kW high-energy laser (HEL) technology demonstrator at its Ochsenboden Proving Ground (EZO) in Switzerland.
Conducted in November under snowy conditions and bright sunlight, the testing was to demonstrate five-fold increase in the weapon’s efficiency and enhanced stability, when compared with the 10kW version tested by the company in 2011.
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The efficiency improvement increases the weapon’s suitability for individual scenarios such as air defence, counter rocket, artillery, mortar (C-RAM) and asymmetric warfare operations.
Testing also highlighted the weapon’s ability to bombard a single target in a superimposed, increasing manner, using Rheinmetall’s existing Beam Superimposing Technology (BST), which increases overall mission performance over time.
Two HEL functional models, including an Oerlikon Revolver Gun air defence turret-integrated 30kW weapon station, as well as an Oerlikon Skyguard fire control unit and a 20kW weapon station integrated into a Revolver Gun turret were used for static and dynamic testing.
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During testing, the 30kW weapon station engaged and destroyed incoming unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at a distance of 2km, using data gathered by Skyguard radar and cutting through a 15mm-thick steel girder at a range of 1,000m.
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By GlobalDataDuring its flight, the weapon was also successful in striking an extremely small ballistic target, simulated by an 82mm steel ball travelling at a speed of 50m/sec, confirming the tactical viability of laser weapons usage in future C-RAM operations, even in adverse weather conditions.
Rheinmetall has increased HEL’s power density (kW/m3) compared with the10kW demonstrator, which enabled the weapon to produce twice the laser output within the same volume.
The company is now planning to develop a company-financed 60kW technology demonstrator with enhanced laser output in 2013, as well as pursuing the concept for a mobile HEL weapon with different mobile platforms.
