Popular Mechanics:There is a cottage industry forming to thwart the twin threats of unexploded bombs and intentionally placed IEDs—by convincing the Pentagon to use long-range lasers in the warzone. Boeing, always at the forefront of a lucrative market niche, has mounted a solid-state direct-energy beam that can explode bombs in the clear before they can take out a convoy. And if the proving-ground footage we’ve been checking out is any indication, this zapper is definitely showing potential.
Late last month, Boeing conducted a series of tests at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama with a 1-kw laser mounted on the back of a converted anti-aircraft Humvee. Shooting an invisible beam just a few centimeters in diameter and 20 times hotter than an electric stovetop, the laser burned a hole through the casing of artillery and mortar rounds, detonating them more or less instantly. (As for bystanders, all bets are off.)
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Click on the image for a larger view. It is an interesting weapon but would appear to make the Humvee unstable with so much weight aloft. I can see where it would give some advantages if a suspicious object is spotted. Rather than wait for the engineers to come up and check it out or destroy it, they could just zap it and not take any chances. My guess is that if it does go into production it will probably be on an MRAP, which can better handle the weight.
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