Researchers create laser drones capable of cutting metal

Chinese researchers have designed drones equipped with lasers capable of easily drilling through metal – a feat never before achieved for an on-board system. To achieve this, scientists have developed an innovative configuration based on the use of tubes to collect and reflect beams coming from ground stations. They have also integrated an anti-vibration system to increase the efficiency of the device.

Due to their high precision and low cost per shot, directed energy weapons are expected to see significant development in the years to come. These systems use laser beams, microwaves or particle beams instead of traditional munitions. This type of weapon is currently at the heart of numerous research, and in a context of arms race, several countries have already made significant progress in this area.

In a new study reported by the media South China Morning Posta scientific team from China led by a researcher nicknamed “Crazy Li”, whose real name is Li Xiao, has designed drones equipped with lasers of unprecedented power. You should know that a very high power laser like this requires heavy and bulky equipment, generally installed on large vehicles such as trucks. How, then, did Xiao and his team at the National University of Defense Technology manage to adapt this technology to a platform as compact and lightweight as a drone?

A ground station and on-board reflective tubes

The system consists of a ground station that emits and directs the laser beams. This is what prevents the drone from having to carry the energy source. Each drone is equipped with a system made up of two tubes. The first tube collects the beams emitted by the station, then transmits them to the second tube, which functions as a reflector directing the laser towards the target. The technology can support beams of up to 30 kW or more.

In this achievement, Li and his team managed to overcome the challenges posed by the laser’s ultra-high power. Indeed, vibrations can be generated by the flight of the drone and disrupt the stability of the beam, which reduces the precision of the system and, therefore, its efficiency. Scientists have therefore implemented an isolation technology that minimizes the effects of these vibrations.

A laser capable of cutting metal and charring human tissue

The researchers claim that their laser system is up to 200 million times more powerful than an infrared laser with a wavelength of 1,080 nanometers (nm). For information, a 1080 nm laser is widely used in several fields, notably in medicine (for certain types of surgery) and in the military sector (where it is used as a target indicator and range finder). The latter presents a risk of blindness even at very low power (five microwatts), which illustrates the devastating potential of the technology developed by Crazy Li.

According to the researchers, an exposure of less than a second would be sufficient to vaporize the subcutaneous fatty layer. Such intensity would also make it possible to cut metal, easily neutralizing material threats and eliminating obstacles on the battlefield. The team illustrates the military potential of this technology by imagining a scenario where a single drone could take on an entire squad of armed soldiers.