Have they looked at masers? Basically rf lasers.i think they’re much cheaper than lasers and could be steered at drones but would only need enough power to interfere with guidance/ controls
A maser is a device that produces coherent microwaves, through amplification by stimulated emission. The term is an acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
TIL, thank you friend!
There has been development of smarter jammers that’ll ‘listen’ for the frequency used, and pump out jamming to defeat it, but I haven’t heard of a steerable unit like that - very interesting.
Yes, you can damage pretty much anything with enough energy. It’s hard to fit high-power lasers on small flight-capable platforms, so ground-based units are more likely. You can blind UAV systems’ sensors with IR lasers at relatively low power, too. However, this is easily countered by software. Reflective coatings and retroreflective foils are possible countermeasures to laser attacks, but even these have damage thresholds.
IR lasers and masers have the advantage of being eye-safe, meaning their light won’t get bent by your eyes’ lenses and can’t damage your retinas, due to their wavelength. With enough power, however, you can still burn human flesh.
Have they looked at masers? Basically rf lasers.i think they’re much cheaper than lasers and could be steered at drones but would only need enough power to interfere with guidance/ controls
TIL, thank you friend!
There has been development of smarter jammers that’ll ‘listen’ for the frequency used, and pump out jamming to defeat it, but I haven’t heard of a steerable unit like that - very interesting.
Yes, you can damage pretty much anything with enough energy. It’s hard to fit high-power lasers on small flight-capable platforms, so ground-based units are more likely. You can blind UAV systems’ sensors with IR lasers at relatively low power, too. However, this is easily countered by software. Reflective coatings and retroreflective foils are possible countermeasures to laser attacks, but even these have damage thresholds.
IR lasers and masers have the advantage of being eye-safe, meaning their light won’t get bent by your eyes’ lenses and can’t damage your retinas, due to their wavelength. With enough power, however, you can still burn human flesh.