Boeing's weapon against drones: Think laser, think welding torch

Consider a contest of unmanned aerial vehicle versus energy. And one where energy wins. Boeing has a compact laser weapons system to pull the win off. The system directs energy on its targets, focusing energy on a spot in order to damage the target. Think of it as a welding torch, said Isaac Neal, Boeing engineer, but from many hundreds of meters away. No esoteric alphabet and number strings need recall, as Boeing refers to it directly as the "Compact Laser Weapons System." California-based Wired reporter Jordan Golson described it as "a laser cannon specifically designed to turn unmanned aircraft into flaming wreckage." The system made news this month in reaching "a milestone," in a test in California. It tracked and disabled a moving, untethered unmanned aerial vehicle. Lee Mathews of Geek.com said in past Boeing demos, the laser was taking down drones that were resting on the ground or tethered, much easier targets. "For this latest test," he noted, "Boeing ditched the wire." He said at an August 3 event, the system shot down an airborne UAV at Point Mugu in California by holding the laser beam on the UAV's tail for 10 to15 seconds. David DeYoung, director of Boeing Laser and Electro-Optical Systems, spoke about it during a media roundtable. http://techxplore.com/news/2015-08-boeing-weapon-drones-laser-welding.html