"Infinite ammo" can be not only in computer games. The military wants it too. To in life. Laser weapons can help in this, the ammunition of which is limited only by the capacity of a conditional battery and the resource of the radiation source. New that the Pentagon has concluded with three contractors, provide for the creation and testing of demonstration models (not prototypes) of energy weapons to destroy very complex air targets - cruise missiles.
The industry currently offers lasers ranging from 50 to 150 kW. This is enough to burn a drone, but a highly maneuverable and large cruise missile cannot be hit by this. More powerful lasers are needed. The Pentagon hopes to test 300kW systems by 2022, and would like to see operational models of 500kW lasers by 2024. It is important to note that the new generation laser systems will be based on commercial technologies, and not on any specific military developments. The source jokes that everything you need can be bought at the supermarket near the house.
In 2009-2011, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman built a 1 MW airborne chemical laser system for the Pentagon. To do this, a modified cargo Boeing 747 carried a huge supply of toxic chemicals on board, which is extremely dangerous not only in combat, but even in a calm, peaceful environment. Modern technologies should help to avoid unnecessarily complex and dangerous combat laser systems. Therefore, the military will order a 1-MW combat laser only after successful testing of 500-kW demonstrators.
Source: 3dnews.ru