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| Rheinmetall’s 10kW laser weapon, seen here fitted to the turret of the company’s C-RAM air-defense system, shot down a UAV (see lower photo), while a less powerful model sank a rubber raft and detected IEDs in a recent exercise. (Image: Rheinmetall) |
Having recently used a high-energy laser weapon to down an unmanned
aircraft at a proving ground in Switzerland, Rheinmetall has
demonstrated the operational potential of combining a powerful laser
weapon with an advanced air defence system.
Having recently used a high-energy laser weapon to down an unmanned
aircraft at a proving ground in Switzerland, Rheinmetall has
demonstrated the operational potential of combining a powerful laser
weapon with an advanced air defence system.
This event provides compelling proof of the Group’s 360° competence
in relevant technologies ranging from military lasers and target
recognition and identification to target tracking and fire control units
– and its unrivaled ability to weld them into a single,
forward-looking, fully functional full scale demonstrator.
At a live fire laser demo at the Group’s Ochsenboden proving ground,
international guests were able to view two laser weapon demonstrators in
action, each featuring different performance parameters.
For example, a 10-kW laser was integrated into an air defence system
consisting of an Oerlikon Skyguard 3 fire control unit and a Skyshield
gun turret. Modular and scalable, the laser weapon itself consisted of
two 5-kW laser weapon modules.
Source: Reinmetall via Defense-Aerospace.
