Scaling NIF Laser Fusion to 2030

This is a summary of the information from the Inertial Fusion Science and Applications 2023 conference and the presentations and announcements from Lawrence Livermore National Labs and the National Ignition facility. There is already an article with more details on the scaling plans. The July 30, 2023 result already improved already got 23% more power …

Read more

LLNL NIF Plans for Higher Laser Power and a Roadmap to Over 10X Fusion Gain

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) made worldwide news when they reached nuclear fusion ignition in December 2022 but they went beyond that result on July 30, 2023. I am attending the 2023 International Conference on Inertial Fusion Sciences and Applications where there have been numerous presentations by leaders of …

Read more

SpaceX Starlink Has Upgraded Satellite to Satellites 100 Gbps Laser Links

SpaceX has more than 8,000 space lasers across the Starlink constellation. Starlink satellites are able to connect thousands of kilometers apart, beyond the view of ground stations, and maintain pointing accuracy to enable data transfer up to 100 Gbps on each link. Starlink’s laser mesh network allows us to provide truly global coverage and serve …

Read more

UK Getting 15 Kilowatt Combat Laser for Armored Vehicles

United Kingdom armed forces will receive its first 15 KW laser weapon in October 2023. A subsidiary of RTX’s Raytheon UK, the high-energy laser weapon system will be integrated into the UK’s Wolfhound armored vehicle. The UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Land Demonstrator Program has developed a 15-kilowatt laser to prevent aerial threats from unmanned …

Read more

Missile Defense Agency Sees Megawatt Anti-ICBM Lasers by 2026

In July 2023 Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) announced they will scale its laser technology to a new benchmark: a 500 kW-class laser, the most powerful laser Lockheed Martin has produced, topping its 300 kW-class laser power level developed under a contract from the Department of Defense. This is the second phase of the High Energy …

Read more

Northrop Grummans Compact 10 KW Anti-drone Laser and Humvee Mounted Laser Against Mortars, Rockets and More

Northrop Grumman believes a good defense against Unmanned Aerial System (aka drones) Threats requires a comprehensive, end-to-end approach. They have a uniquely capable of providing an integrated, layered solution across the kill chain. The C-UAS architecture and system of systems approach starts with sensing and tracking. It delivers a layered defense that includes a full …

Read more

Hardware Being Built for Laser Beaming Mission to Low Earth Orbit

UCSB Dr. Philip Lubin and his team have NASA, Breakthrough Starshot and other funding to develop laser power beaming to propel missions for eventual interstellar space goals and nearterm orbital and in solar system missions. They have been developing the hardware and the science. They have written over 2000 pages of research. They are now …

Read more

Metamaterials Trap Light in a Magnet Could Lead to Optically Controlled Computer Memory

Vinod M. Menon and his research group at The City College of New York shows that trapping light inside magnetic materials may dramatically enhance their intrinsic properties. Strong optical responses of magnets are important for the development of magnetic lasers and magneto-optical memory devices, as well as for emerging quantum transduction applications. The properties of …

Read more

China Claims Breakthrough in Cooling Combat Lasers

China’s military scientists claim their new high-energy laser weapons can now operate ‘infinitely’, thanks to a new cooling system that completely eliminates the build-up of waste heat. Chinese researcher Yuan Shenghfu, August 4 in Acta Optica Sinica,A has made a new laser cooling system using active structures and optimized gas flow to remove heat while …

Read more

Lockheed Scaling Army Combat Laser to Cruise Missile Destroying 500 Kilowatts

Lockheed Martin will scale its combat laser technology to a 500 kW-class laser. It will be the most powerful laser Lockheed Martin has produced, topping its 300 kW-class laser power level developed under a contract from the Department of Defense’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering, OUSD (R&E). The 500 …

Read more