Laser Guns! (Photos) - Is The Tech There Yet?

[BrilliantLasers]

I am interested to know how far people/companies have taken this. It's hard to find much out there for portable hand held 'laser weapons'. I honestly think it's theoretically possible to make a 1kw laser rifle in current times, as I have fairly small bike batteries that can output 3-4kw bursts of energy. I personally, am working on a 3d printed 100 watt nubm31 laser pistol which is almost done, and my next project I may run 2 through a combine prism to make 200 watts, which should be strong enough to legitimately weld with.

Here are some shots of my laser pistol. Ps, in the last outdoor shot I took several minutes to make sure all boat and air traffic were clear.

 

[junksmith_cheddar]

Sure, people today can buy laser arrays and come up with a way to jam them to a circuitry and a portable power source, but the irreversible ocular damage (potential overkill in this case) they can cause, to name one of the reasons, still keeps them considered as inhumane, it could however have a way better use to weld (like you mentioned) and disable unmanned operatives, like shining the beam at surveillance cameras and at drone sensors. But the visible beam puts the operator at disadvantage by revealing their position, then an infrared laser beam is a more tactical option, making the light source harder to find. Another issue could be the reloads (batteries and laser source as the magazines), resistance to physical trauma (dropping the gun) and corrosion (contact with water), but that mostly depends on the terrain/environment they are used.
On the other hand, -held laser guns with that power output are impressive no matter what. Sick post.

 

[BrilliantLasers]

Sure, people today can buy laser arrays and come up with a way to jam them to a circuitry and a portable power source, but the irreversible ocular damage (potential overkill in this case) they can cause, to name one of the reasons, still keeps them considered as inhumane, it could however have a way better use to weld (like you mentioned) and disable unmanned operatives, like shining the beam at surveillance cameras and at drone sensors. But the visible beam puts the operator at disadvantage by revealing their position, then an infrared laser beam is a more tactical option, making the light source harder to find. Another issue could be the reloads (batteries and laser source as the magazines), resistance to physical trauma (dropping the gun) and corrosion (contact with water), but that mostly depends on the terrain/environment they are used.
On the other hand, -held laser guns with that power output are impressive no matter what. Sick post.

Yeah, it does make me wonder how far different military/weapon companies have gone with it. I can see why they would keep it a secret, as that type of weapon is in sketchy territory as you said. I mean, there was that bold claim from China that they were working on a near lethal laser rifle.

On the other hand, I cannot even begin to imagine the horror of a weapon like that falling into the wrong hands. 'Mass blind' shooting would be unthinkable. Imagine police trying to deal with a 1kw invisible laser wielding psycho.

 

[junksmith_cheddar]

… Let alone a group of them

 

[RedCowboy]

Terrorist wielding portable blinding weapons would be reason enough to release the militarized assassin drone swarms !
The 1st case of a weaponized robot being used against a non military target/human has already happened and Obama was famous for droning Americans on foreign soil, not that I see anything wrong with it, I expect our police agencies/swat already have weaponized drones on hand and I have seen pics of swat robots with dazzlers.

China has blinding lasers on their main battle tanks so auto darkening eye protection like welders masks use and helmets with ballistic shielding and virtual lcd screens using helmet mounted cams could become standard, I suppose police could employ the same camera helmets if blinding lasers became a regular problem.

But it will almost always come down to the strength of numbers in any battle scenario, although hardened robotic infantry with the latest direct energy force multipliers could be devastatingly effective against human combatants with conventional weapons and tactics.

Imagine your a soldier with a laser rifle deep in enemy territory without close air support facing an army of robotic " terminators " with laser weapons who can out endure and out perform you in most every way, add to that their direct link to drone swarms.......you will need a new EMP weapon and drones of your own with airburst countermeasures.

There is a concept for a LSDW weapon, that's a laser supported detonation wave utilize atmosphere and the targets own particulate from an initial pulse followed by an ignition pulse, of course to be man portable an active fiber laser system would likely be developed, the biggest hurdle is still battery technology for compact man portable systems but it will be overcome soon I expect.

Man-portable Integrated Laser Assault Riffle | SBIR.gov

www.sbir.gov

p.s. Production capacity and material supply infrastructure is key for winning a conventional war but now a nations ability to respond in real time to bio attack has become front and center, now more than ever the deterrent of mutual assured destruction is so very important in avoiding unthinkable horror of war.

 

[BrilliantLasers]

To be honest I actually find some military 'rules' to be a little funny and ironic. Lasers that can blind, or bio/chemical weapons are not more 'cruel' than napalm or phosphor artillery, or many other weapons in use. I honestly think part of the reason for these rules is actually based on that fact that these weapons are relatively cheap and easy to make. It's not difficult to make a laser that can blind, or a chemical that can poison.

It's a way of maintaining military power, simple as that.

 

[RedCowboy]

Rules are for proxy skirmishes, the next big world war likely won't have any rules and will be " come as you are " .

 

[Mattronium]

I will add, there is a distinct difference between laser weapons that blind (not to be confused with laser dazzlers, which do not cause damage) or that cause thermal effects. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Certain_Conventional_Weapons

 

[Andrew124C41]

Terrorist wielding portable blinding weapons would be reason enough to release the militarized assassin drone swarms !
The 1st case of a weaponized robot being used against a non military target/human has already happened and Obama was famous for droning Americans on foreign soil, not that I see anything wrong with it, I expect our police agencies/swat already have weaponized drones on hand and I have seen pics of swat robots with dazzlers.

China has blinding lasers on their main battle tanks so auto darkening eye protection like welders masks use and helmets with ballistic shielding and virtual lcd screens using helmet mounted cams could become standard, I suppose police could employ the same camera helmets if blinding lasers became a regular problem.

But it will almost always come down to the strength of numbers in any battle scenario, although hardened robotic infantry with the latest direct energy force multipliers could be devastatingly effective against human combatants with conventional weapons and tactics.

Imagine your a soldier with a laser rifle deep in enemy territory without close air support facing an army of robotic " terminators " with laser weapons who can out endure and out perform you in most every way, add to that their direct link to drone swarms.......you will need a new EMP weapon and drones of your own with airburst countermeasures.

There is a concept for a LSDW weapon, that's a laser supported detonation wave utilize atmosphere and the targets own particulate from an initial pulse followed by an ignition pulse, of course to be man portable an active fiber laser system would likely be developed, the biggest hurdle is still battery technology for compact man portable systems but it will be overcome soon I expect.

Man-portable Integrated Laser Assault Riffle | SBIR.gov

www.sbir.gov

p.s. Production capacity and material supply infrastructure is key for winning a conventional war but now a nations ability to respond in real time to bio attack has become front and center, now more than ever the deterrent of mutual assured destruction is so very important in avoiding unthinkable horror of war.

I remember this incident. Rules in war, lol....almost an oxymoron. I have a healthy respect for C4. A friend of mine is a Class3 Dealer and had a blasters license. He has 90 acres of land to do his testing. Years ago I was also invited to Quantico by one of my patients who worked for the Secret Services Technical Services Division. There had been increasing concern that protectees were liable to be targets of explosives, not just firearms. So, TSD setup an elaborate demonstration of various types of explosives. Among them were an RPG, 40 mm grenade launcher, C4, Det Cord, and RDX. In one demo, they chose to emulate a hit which took place in Italy. A vehicle filled with C4 is parked. When the target vehicle drives by, it is detonated. They did this using only a hotel bar sized piece of C4. They had us quite far back from the demo. Let's just say it was impressive.

A lot has to do with whether the detonation takes place in an enclosed area because the over pressure is what really causes harm. I had the opportunity to fire the 40 mm.. They had placed a bunch of out of service vehicles to be used as targets. Three guys went before me firing smoke. I just watched their arcs and when it was my turn, I put he HE round right through the SUV window. While the SUV itself survived, I would not have wanted to be inside the vehicle.

I had the opportunity to review a number of ISIS videos the reasons for which it is best not to get into. They were not released in the US but were used in the middle east for their intended purpose.....to instill fear. One video I will never forget. They took a bunch of guys, sat them down, and ran a loop of det cord around their necks in a chain going from one to the other. The rest you can figure out.

I have no doubt those HE swarm drones are not science fiction.

As for using a laser as a weapon, in our woke society, it a guy blinded a criminal preventing him from killing a little old lady, for example, you can bet some woke jury would convict him of something and the victim would walk and get tons of cash

 

[RedCowboy]

What's the law on building a muzzle loading, smooth bore cannon ( black powder ) such as bowling ball shooters ?

 

[Andrew124C41]

If we are talking about black powder, non fixed amo for an individual not under Federal disability for firearm ownership.... nothing! Cannon

 

[BrilliantLasers]

I think laws are a little different here in Canada.. Hehe.

 

[RedCowboy]

Trudeau will change your laws on a whim, just get used to doing whatever your told, if tomorrow Trudeau doesn't like lasers they will be banned in Canada except as incorporated into products that you will be forbidden to dismantle without a government issued repair facility license.

@ Ears: Am I wrong ?

 

[Andrew124C41]

Trudeau will change your laws on a whim, just get used to doing whatever your told, if tomorrow Trudeau doesn't like lasers they will be banned in Canada except as incorporated into products that you will be forbidden to dismantle without a government issued repair facility license.

@ Ears: Am I wrong ?

With the exception of transgenders....or if you are good and use proper pronouns you can have a laser for your cat!

 

[RedCowboy]

Well of course at home anal sphincter rejuvenation lasers and cat toys will be exempt, so long as you don't take them apart.

---edit---

In the not so distant future robotic infantry and robotic civilian enforcement officers will become a reality as will shoulder fired laser weapons, these will almost certainly be seen as " destructive devices " until court battles are won but with the likely caveat that personal laser weapons must be configured in such a way as to deliver only a " single laser shot " per single trigger pull which will be defined and codified into law with restrictions on pulse duration and total jewels of energy per single laser shot per single trigger pull, CW lasers will likely remain non-weapons below a yet to be determined output.

And your laser rifle will be required to emit a loud report with each single laser shot per single trigger pull as well as emitting a digitized RF pulse that your cell phone will make record of as will any cell phone or community placed transceiver that will denote your position on the Earth and time of day, that's if we can win the court battles to even own the dam things, well I expect the lower class will be like BB guns which is where we stand now if you build a portable pulsed YAG or other toy.

The civilian class will be defined by total allowed energy per trigger pull based heavily on less than lethal wounding and everything else will be the restricted class and hunting with laser weapons will be forbidden, or so that's my expectation if we can remain a Free-ish people with any shred of our Bill of Rights intact.

Personal robots will be heavily regulated.

 

[Eseyria]

So powerful