History and Development of Military Lasers

Chapter 2
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF
MILITARY LASERS

JACK B. KELLER, JR*

INTRODUCTION

INVENTING THE LASER

MILITARIZING THE LASER

SEARCHING FOR HIGH-ENERGY LASER WEAPONS

SEARCHING FOR LOW-ENERGY LASER WEAPONS

RETURNING TO HIGHER ENERGIES

SUMMARY

*Lieutenant Colonel, US Army (Retired); formerly, Foreign Science Information Officer, US Army Medical Research Detachment-Walter Reed Army
Institute of Research, 7965 Dave Erwin Drive, Brooks City-Base, Texas 78235

25
 Biomedical Implications of Military Laser Exposure

INTRODUCTION

This chapter will examine the history of the laser, Military advantage is greatest when details are con-
from theory to demonstration, for its impact upon the US cealed from real or potential adversaries (eg, through
military. In the field of military science, there was early classification). Classification can remain in place long
recognition that lasers can be visually and cutaneously after a program is aborted, if warranted to conceal
hazardous to military personnel—hazards documented technological details or pathways not obvious or easily
in detail elsewhere in this volume—and that such hazards deduced but that may be relevant to future develop-
must be mitigated to ensure military personnel safety ments. Thus, many details regarding developmental
and mission success. At odds with this recognition was military laser systems cannot be made public; their
the desire to harness the laser’s potential application to a descriptions here are necessarily vague.
wide spectrum of military tasks. This chapter focuses on Once fielded, system details usually, but not always,
the history and development of laser systems that, when become public. Laser systems identified here represent
used, necessitate highly specialized biomedical research various evolutionary states of the art in laser technol-
as described throughout this volume. This presenta- ogy, design, and application during their development.
tion is neither exhaustive nor definitive, but describes Emitted beam characteristics vary widely and are
numerous developmental and fielded laser systems important to the specific application and assessment
that cover a range of militarily important applications. of potential hazards.

INVENTING THE LASER

“A splendid light has dawned on me about the absorption and emission of radiation.”

—Albert Einstein, letter to Michele Angelo Besso, September 6, 19161(p82)

Light amplification by stimulated emission of radia- his design. Historical credit for the invention of the
tion (“laser”) is the optical demonstration of Einstein’s laser went instead to Bell Labs researchers Charles
theorized “splendid light.” Einstein realized that an H. Townes and Arthur L. Schawlow, whose detailed
atom in an excited state can be induced to make a and published proposal for building what they called
downward transition while emitting a photon, if the an “optical maser” created an instant stir when it ap-
atom is irradiated at a frequency that matches the peared in Physical Review on December 15, 1958.3
atomic transition energy of the host material. Even so, The race to build the first laser began immediately,
in science, realization without proof is mere theory. but there was no agreement about which of several can-
Einstein’s “splendid light” remained theory for sev- didate materials might be an acceptable host.4 Townes
eral years. led a team at Columbia to build a potassium-vapor
laser. Similarly, Gould, at Technical Research Group,
Civilian Efforts worked on alkali metal vapors. In the Soviet Union,
Nicolay G. Basov concentrated on semiconductors.
In 1928, at Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, Rudolf Lad- Ali Javan, at Bell Labs, worked to build a helium-neon
enburg proved negative absorption (stimulated gas laser. Schawlow, also at Bell Labs, considered
emission) near resonant wavelengths in neon gas.2 ruby, but then dismissed it as unsuitable. Theodore
However, Ladenburg’s demonstration was of an Maiman, at Hughes Research Laboratory, became
uncontrolled emission, and nothing practical flowed convinced that Schawlow was wrong to dismiss ruby
from his proof. Another 26 years would pass before as a host material. On May 16, 1960, Maiman used
demonstration of a controlled stimulated emission. a cylindrical ruby crystal and a xenon flash lamp to
In 1954, at Columbia University, Charles Townes, generate a monochromatic beam of coherent radia-
Herbert Zeiger, and James Gordon stimulated am- tion.5 The ruby laser emitted a 0.5-millisecond pulse
monia gas with microwave radiation and created the that approximated the pump lamp’s emission duration
first “maser” (microwave amplification by stimulated with a primary emission wavelength of 694.3 nm. The
emission of radiation). pulse on higher-energy ruby lasers could linger from
Three years later, Gordon Gould, a Columbia gradu- 1 to 5 milliseconds. These are relatively long pulses
ate student, coined the acronym “laser.” In a notarized compared to what is possible through Q-switching.
but unpublished paper, Gould described how a laser (Q-switched lasers emit short pulses. “Q” refers to the
could be built, and was later awarded a patent just for “quality” factor describing the state of a laser cavity.)

26
 History and Development of Military Lasers

Military Interest preferred solid-state laser changed the potential

not only for laser application, but also for result-
Researchers at the Defense Department’s Advanced ing medical hazards.
Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and military ser- ARPA and the military services’ R&D laboratories
vices’ research and development (R&D) laboratories, naturally hoped that laser technology could be man-
including the Army’s R&D labs at Picatinny Arsenal, ageably scaled, powered, and packaged as deployable
New Jersey, and Ft Monmouth, New Jersey, quickly combat tools. The ultimate goal was development of a
recognized that laser energy possessed a number of “ray gun.” In 1968, Frederick Schollhammer obtained
special properties, not least of which are spatial and US Patent Number 3,392,261 for the “Portable Beam
temporal coherence. Coherent and almost parallel Generator,” also known as the handheld laser ray gun.6
beams of light can achieve extremely high radiation Of course, owning a patent and making a product are
densities when tightly pulsed and highly focused, two different things.
creating transitory temperatures exceeding those on Impressive though they are, even today’s most mod-
the sun’s surface. ern laser applications still pale in comparison to the
Even the low-powered, Q-switched ruby laser power and efficiency of those depicted in science fiction.
inspired excitement among those who under- Early military applications were all the more benign by
stood its potential. Q-switching produces a more contrast. ARPA awarded seed money for research to
intense pulse. While output energy is somewhat develop and test new laser action materials (“lasants”).
decreased, the pulse duration is markedly short- The original ruby lasant was applied to a number of
ened, resulting in a tremendous increase in emit- applications with military potential. Within a year of
ted power density; a 10 ns pulse of 1 J represents a Maiman’s original achievement, the first prototype
pulse of about 100 million W. The effect of such a military laser device—an artillery laser rangefinder—
pulse on target materials, whether rigid or elastic, had been designed and built. In much the same way
is more “explosive” or ablative than long pulses. that radar modernized air operations, some visionaries
Thus, the transition from ruby to neodymium- believed the laser could fundamentally change future
doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) as the battlefields across a wide spectrum of military functions.

MILITARIZING THE LASER

Although many nations have harnessed the poten- within every main battle tank the US Army fielded
tial of military lasers, none have done so as extensively until the introduction of the M1 Abrams tank series
as the United States. Prior to the development of the in 1978.
first laser, American military scientists had envisioned Although the ruby laser system was useful in early
light-sourced applications to support distance mea- work, faster and cooler lasers were subsequently made
surement, target designation, and wireless guidance. possible through the use of Nd:YAG as a lasant. The
Unfortunately, none of these applications could be switch to Nd:YAG was concurrent with the introduc-
achieved with noncoherent light sources. The laser tion of the M1 Abrams in 1978 and continued in the
provided a tight, collimated, and discrete wavelength M1A1 (1985). A laser rangefinder known as the eye-
beam that was immediately applied to support these safe laser rangefinder (ELRF) used erbium-doped glass
and other applications: as a lasant that did not exceed the radiation protection
exposure limits. It was introduced with the M1A2 in
Rangefinders 19867 (Table 2-1).
The mainstay for US ground as well as nontank ve-
The first successful American military application hicle laser rangefinders has been the neodymium-based
of laser technology was for the purpose of distance AN/GVS-5. Since 1977, more than 8,000 such units have
measurement, or “rangefinding.” The idea in this case been fielded to Army and Marine Corps forward observ-
was to employ the energy density of the laser beam, ers. The AN/GVS-5 delivers one ranging measurement
the strength of which guaranteed reflection back from per second and can be operated by battery or vehicular
almost any irregular surface of military interest. Using electrical power. This system’s 7 × 50 mm sighting
ruby, the first artillery laser rangefinder was built at optics, multiple target indicator, and minimum range
the US Army’s Pitman-Dunn Laboratory at Frankfort adjustment provide wide versatility and adaptability.
Arsenal, Pennsylvania. Dubbed the XM23, this device The LAV-AD (Light Armored Vehicle–Air Defense)
was the first of a larger family of rangefinders. The and LAV-105 are both eight-wheeled armored cars.
well-engineered ruby laser rangefinder was deployed Each is augmented with a different laser rangefinder.

27
 Biomedical Implications of Military Laser Exposure

TABLE 2-1
US TANK RANGEFINDER SYSTEMS GROUPED BY THEIR LASER MEDIUMS AND TANK MODELS

Laser Medium Ruby Nd:YAG Er:Glass

Tank Rangefinder System AN/VVS-1 AN/VVG-1 AN/VVG-2 AN/VVG-3 ELRF

(Tank Model) (M60A2 Tank) (M551A1 Sheridan) (M60A3 Tank) (M1 and M1A1 Tank) (M1A2Tank)

Er:Glass: erbium-doped glass

ELRF: eyesafe laser rangefinder
Nd:YAG: neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet

The LAV-105 uses the AN/GVS-5, and the LAV-AD The US Army first began research into laser target
uses a transversely excited atmospheric carbon dioxide designation in 1962. Simultaneously, the Army began
(CO2) laser. The Avenger air defense system also uses research into laser guidance of smoothbore cannon
a CO2 laser.8 Other rangefinders also exist (Table 2-2). projectiles. The US Air Force joined this effort and
As military rangefinders transitioned from use of developed the first laser-guided bomb (BOmb, Laser,
ruby to Nd:YAG lasant, an additional military applica- Target-117) (BOLT-117) in 1967. The BOLT-117 was
tion became possible. Because neodymium was cooler essentially a gravity bomb equipped with a laser
than ruby, neodymium permitted faster repetition seeker, guidance logic, and attached control system.
rates. Although largely unnecessary for rangefinders, The system’s signals steered the bomb by controlling
these faster rates were essential for target designation. its fins. Target designation for the bomb was achieved
by laser designator (AN/ALQ-10) operated from a
Target Designators and Markers separate observation aircraft.9,10
In 1968, the BOLT-117 was field-tested in Vietnam.9
Target designation relies on beam reflection and fast Because the BOLT-117 was a “dumb bomb” adapted
repetition rates. A laser target designator emits a coded to a “smart task,” this bomb was limited in terms of its
train of pulses to a designated point of reflectivity on seeker sensitivity, glide agility, and range. Although it
the target. A seeker on the weapon identifies and locks needed an improved and integrated system in a more
onto the reflected, coded train of pulses. Guidance maneuverable body, its concept was compelling.
surfaces or steering jets then maneuver the delivery The limitations of the BOLT-117 were overcome
system (bomb, missile, or warhead) to strike the target by the GBU (Guided Bomb Unit)-10 Paveway, which
at the designated point. was designed and built to be a laser-guided bomb.

TABLE 2-2
A COMPARISON OF US HANDHELD AND VEHICLE-MOUNTED LASER RANGEFINDERS

System Known As Platform Use Medium

AN/GVS-5 GVS-5 Handheld Nd:YAG

AN/PVS-X MLRF Handheld Nd:YAG
AN/TWQ-1 Avenger HMMWV Air Defense TEA CO2
LAV-105 LAV Armored Car Nd:YAG
LAV-AD LAV-AD Armored Car - AD CO2
AN/PVS-6 MELIOS Handheld Erbium

AD: air defense

CO2: carbon dioxide
HMMWV: high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle
LAV: light-armored vehicle
MELIOS: mini-eyesafe laser infrared observation set
MLRF: miniature laser rangefinder
Nd:YAG: neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet
TEA CO2: transversely excited atmospheric carbon dioxide

28
 History and Development of Military Lasers

A prototype of the GBU-10 was successfully employed Smart bombs can also be designated from the
over North Vietnam in 1972.9 Near Hanoi, four GBU- ground. The AN/PAQ-1 laser target designator,
10s released during a single sortie scored four direct which can be fitted with a night sight, was issued
hits and dropped the Than Hoa Bridge, which had pre- to Special Forces, Army artillery observers, and Air
viously survived more than 800 attack sorties by dumb Force forward air controllers as early as 1972. In 1977,
bombs over a 5-year period. As a proof-of-concept the modular universal laser equipment (MULE) was
mission, the Than Hoa raid was a resounding success. introduced. The MULE was an extremely adaptable
The accomplishment was quickly followed by drop- piece of equipment used by artillery forward observers,
ping Hanoi’s equally vexing Paul Doumier bridge.11 naval gunfire spotters, and forward air controllers. Two
The GBU-12, GBU-15, GBU-16, GBU-24, GBU-27, and years later, the ground/vehicular laser locator desig-
GBU-28 succeeded the GBU-10.10 These follow-on systems nator (G/VLLD, often referred to simply as the GLD,
had maneuverable bodies and could be self-designated. pronounced “glid”) was fielded. This system could
This meant that the delivery aircraft could designate its be man-packed, but its primary mount was the fire
own target, eliminating the need for an additional air- support team vehicle (FIST-V). Both the MULE and G/
craft on station. Some of the aircraft and helicopter laser VLLD performed target location and laser designation
designators in the US inventory are listed in Table 2-3. for all fielded laser-guided munitions (LGM) in the US
and North Atlantic Treaty Organization inventories.10
As the US Army worked to solve problems as-
TABLE 2-3 sociated with cannon-launched guided projectiles
LASER DESIGNATORS AND THEIR (CLGPs), the Marine Corps adapted the air-to-ground
ASSOCIATED US AIRCRAFT PLATFORMS missile AGM-65 Maverick to laser guidance as the
AGM-65E,12 dubbed the LMav (laser-guided Maverick)
System Known As Platform Association to differentiate it from other Maverick models guided
by electro-optics, television, or infrared imaging. The
AN/AVQ-9 Pave Light OV-10 and F-4 Army would later field a helicopter-launched, antitank
AN/ALQ-10 Pave Knife F-16 LGM known as the Hellfire, and later the Hellfire II,
AN/AVQ-11 Pave Sword O-2A and F-4 with 20 variants between them. The LGM can be fired
AN/AVQ-12 Pave Spike O-2A, F-4, and F-111 from eleven different helicopters, six fixed-wing air-
AN/AVQ-13 Pave Nail OV-10 craft, four unmanned aircraft, and at least two naval
AN/AAQ-14 LANTIRN F-14, F-15E, and F-16C/D craft.13
AN/AVQ-14 Pave Arrow O-2A and C-123 During this time, the Army also finally fielded its
AN/AVQ-19 Pave Spectre AC-130
Copperhead antitank round. The M712 Copperhead
AN/AAQ-22 Safire NTIS UH-1N and P-3
laser-guided, 155-mm CLGP is fired from any model
AN/AVQ-25 Pave Tack A-7D, A-10A, F-4, and
F-111 155-mm Howitzer to within the general vicinity of the
AN/AVQ-26 Pave Tack F-4, RF-4, and F-111F target. When the round reaches apex and begins its
AN/AAS-32 ATL AH-1F downward flight, a forward observer illuminates its
AN/AAS-33A TRAM A-6E target by laser. The Copperhead’s seeker locks onto
AN/AAS-35 Pave Penny F-16, A-7D, A-10A, F-4, the reflected laser energy and steers itself to the target.
F-111, and OV-10A The Copperhead is effective in locating both stationary
AN/AAS-37 LRFD OV-10 and moving targets. However, its price tag limited its
AN/AAS-38A Nite Hawk F/A-18
use to very high-value targets. Its last reported use was
NTSF-65 NTS AH-1W
in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom, after which
TADS LTD TADS AH-64
M65 LAAT AH-1F and AH-1S a new family of smart projectiles incorporated global
MMS LRF/D Mast Mount OH-58D positioning system/inertial navigation system-guided
bombs and precision artillery.14
ATL: advanced tactical laser In 1986, the compact laser designator was fielded
LAAT: laser augmented airborne tube-launched, optically tracked, for Army Special Forces and Navy Seals. At about the
wire-guided missile same time, military scientists began to analyze the
LANTIRN: low-altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night
concept of portable and handheld laser markers that
LRFD and LRF/D: laser rangefinder designator
LTD: laser target designator could be used to illuminate or mark targets (Table
MMS: mast-mounted sight 2-4). The Special Operation Forces laser marker was
NTIS: navigational thermal imaging system then developed to illuminate a target for hand-off to
NTS: night targeting system
a laser designator. Officially known as the AN/PEQ-1,
Safire: shipboard airborne forward-looking infrared equipment
TADS: target acquisition and designation sights the Special Operations Forces laser marker was further
TRAM: target recognition attack multisensor developed to a whole family of target pointers, illu-

29
 Biomedical Implications of Military Laser Exposure

minators, and aiming lights. Members of this family TABLE 2-4

are handheld, pistol-mounted, or rifle-mounted, and
US HANDHELD AND VEHICLE-MOUNTED
are monocular or binocular. Some can be used with
LASER DESIGNATORS AND MARKERS BY
night vision devices—the most recent being the AN/
MOUNT
PEQ-16A/B. The laser target marker was used by
ground-based forward controllers. The handheld sys-
System Known As Platform Use
tems LPL-30 (International Technologies Ltd, Rishon
LeZion, Israel) and TD-100 (Target Designator-100)
AN/PAQ-1 LTD Handheld
were developed to mark targets for identification using
AN/TVQ-2 G/VLLD FIST-V
low-light viewing devices such as night vision goggles
or low-light television.6 AN/PAQ-3 MULE Man-packed
The purpose of laser designation, laser spot detec- LTM86 CLD Clid Handheld
tion, and laser target marking systems is to support AN/PEQ-1 SOFLAM Handheld or
laser homing by illuminating targets to enable muni- mounted
tions to lock on and guide toward the point of beam AN/PEQ-2 ATPIAL Mounted
reflectivity. The primary disadvantage of laser homing LTM LTM Man-packed
is that rain, fog, dust, and smoke can interfere with LPL-30* Commander’s Marker Handheld
the laser beam or even completely obscure it, causing TD-100 Marking Laser Handheld
the munition’s seeker to lose its lock and miss its tar-
get. This problem can be avoided through the use of *This system name was originally trademarked by International
another type of laser guidance known as laser beam Technologies, Ltd, Rishon, LeZion. Israel.
ATPIAL: advanced target pointer illuminator aiming laser
“riding.” CLD: compact laser designator
FIST-V: fire support team vehicle
Beam Riders G/VLLD: ground/vehicular laser locator designator
LTD: laser target designator
LTM: laser target marker
Beam rider sensors are located in the aft of the muni- MULE: modular universal laser equipment
tion. Rather than looking forward at the target, beam SOFLAM: special operation forces laser marker
rider sensors look back at the launching platform’s laser
and attempt to “ride” the laser beam itself. In this case,
the laser need not actually illuminate the target at which (HMMWV), with a trailer carrying eight additional
it is aimed during the entire engagement. A gunner can missiles. The LOSAT’s guidance incorporated a CO2
“lead” a moving target, anticipating where the target laser,25 and the LOSAT’s missiles rode the laser beam
will be when the missile closes on it. In theory, as long at hypervelocity (5,000 fps) to deliver long penetrator
as the system operator (gunner) can see the target and rod warheads. Only 12 delivery systems and 435 mis-
can hold the beam on it in the final seconds before im- siles were delivered before the LOSAT program was
pact, the munition will continue to ride the beam until canceled in favor of a lighter-weight missile system.26,27
it strikes the target or loses sight of the beam.
Because the guidance beam is flat, without tra- Multiuse Lasers
jectory, the munition must likewise be capable of
achieving and maintaining a flat flight path without When it became obvious that a coupling of laser
trajectory. Only a missile (tube- or gun-launched) can rangefinder and target designator tasks was a good
do this. There are several examples of laser-beam rider idea, the first Army contract was awarded in 2002. The
autonomous missile15–18 and gun-launched antitank result was the human-portable AN/PED-1 lightweight
guided missile19–23 systems in foreign military arsenals. laser designator rangefinder (LLDR 1), followed by the
For example, Russia has at least six beam-riding, gun- AN/PED-1A (LLDR 2) and AN/PED-1B (LLDR 2H).
launched antitank guided missiles and at least ten The variants include or are being upgraded to include
variants delivered by their family of 100-mm, 115-mm, the following capabilities: thermal imaging, day cam-
and 125-mm guns, as well as three adjunct antitank era, laser designation, ELRF, electronic display, data
guided missiles mountable on vehicles, watercraft, export, and transmission; in the LLDR 2H, variants
helicopters, and high-performance aircraft.24 include digital magnetic compass and selective avail-
The US military explored only initial develop- ability and antispoofing module GPS. With this system,
ment of adding such a system—the line-of-sight US Army and Marine Corps forward observers and
antitank (LOSAT)—to its own arsenal (Table 2-5). The US Air Force terminal or forward air controllers can
LOSAT was a four-missile launcher mounted on a identify and target enemy assets in day, night, haze,
stretched high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle smoke, fog, or rain at ranges up to 7 km.28–30

30
 History and Development of Military Lasers

TABLE 2-5
SELECTED LASER BEAM RIDER MISSILE SYSTEMS BY COUNTRY, TYPE, AND MAXIMUM RANGE

Country System Type Maximum Range

Sweden RBS 70, RSB 70 NG, and RSB 90 SAM 7,000 m

Russia AT-10* (9M117 Bastion – fired through rifled ATGM and GLATGM 4,000 m
guns of T-55 tank)
Russia AT-11* (9M119/9M119M/9M119M1 Svir/Refleks ATGM and GLATGM 4,000 m (ATGM)
/Invar – fired through smoothbore guns of or 5,000 m
T-64, T-72/T-80, T-84, and T-90 tanks and (GLATGM)
through Sprut-SD self-propelled AT gun)
Russia AT-12* (9M118 Sheksna – fired through ATGM and GLATGM 4,000 m
smoothbore gun of T-62 tank series)
Russia AT-14* (9M133 Kornet with variants – adjunct to ATGM 5,500 m (day) or
BMP-3, other APCs and IFVs, and boats) 3,500 m (night)
Russia AT-15* (9M123 Khrizantema with variants – ATGM 6,000 m (claimed)
autonomous tank destroyer- or helicopter-
launched)
Russia AT-16* (9K121 Vikhr – launched from ships, ATGM 8,000–10,000 m (day)
helicopters, and Su-25T aircraft; can also be or 5,000 m (night)
launched against aircraft on frontal axis)
South Africa ZT3 and ZT3A2 Ingwe – vehicle- and helicopter- ATGM 5,000 m
mounted
United States LOSAT ATGM Classified

*NATO reporting name for military equipment of Russia and the former Soviet Union (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NATO_report-
ing_names_for_anti-tank_missiles).
APC: armored personnel carrier
AT: antitank
ATGM: antitank guided missile
BMP: Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty, Russian for “infantry fighting vehicle”
GLATGM: gun-launched antitank guided missile
IFV: infantry fighting vehicle
LOSAT: line-of-sight antitank
RBS: Robotsystem
SAM: surface-to-air missile

The US Marine Corps, with different coordination tional Technologies Ltd), which fit many individual
requirements, fielded the target location, designation, and crew-served weapons used by the US Army and
and hand-off system for use by Marine tactical air Marine Corps. In a similar category are the handheld,
control parties, fire support teams, firepower control clip-on, or finger-mounted ground commander’s
teams, and reconnaissance teams. The target location, pointer and air commander’s pointer. These pointers
designation, and hand-off system possesses additional are small infrared aiming lasers that can be used with
capabilities for mission hand-off, but otherwise per- night vision devices to identify and illuminate targets
forms on par with the LLDR. Two configurations are at night. They are used by all US military services.6
fielded as military ruggedized tablets (MRTs): the Other aiming lasers also exist (Table 2-6).
MRT-A and MRT-B.31
Laser Training Devices
Aiming Lasers
Laser training devices have been in use since the
Although the handheld TD-100 laser marker (see late 1970s. The multiple-integrated laser engagement
Table 2-4) is often described as an “aiming laser,” this system (MILES) is a training system that provides a
term is now more commonly used to describe systems realistic battlefield environment for soldiers involved
that are fitted onto weapons. These include the families in direct fire, force-on-force training exercises that uti-
of the AN/PAQ-4 and the AIM-1 systems (Interna- lize tactical engagement simulation and eyesafe lasers.

31
 Biomedical Implications of Military Laser Exposure

TABLE 2-6
OTHER US LASER AIMING DEVICES BY SYSTEM MODELS

System Series AN/PAQ-4 AIM-1* GCP-1 ACP-2

Aiming devices AN/PAQ-4, AN/PAQ-4A, AN/ AIM-1, AIM-1/D, AIM-1/MLR, GCP-1 and ACP-2 and
PAQ-4B, and AN/PAQ-4C AIM-1/EXL, and AIM/MLR GCP-1A ACP-2A

*AIM-1 is trademarked by International Technologies, Ltd., Rishon, LeZion, Israel.

ACP: air commander’s pointer
GCP: ground commander’s pointer

As described in the US Army’s Technical Bulletin engagement system/air defense, laser air-to-air gun-
524, Control of Hazards to Health From Laser Radiation nery system, and precision gunnery training system.8
(2006), on occupational and environmental health, “[t] A list of laser training devices and their hazardous
hese lasers are designed to be pointed at personnel envelopes is available in Technical Bulletin 524.32
during combat training. Although there is relatively A different approach is followed for the indoor
little risk of eye injury from these lasers, the beams simulated marksmanship trainer (ISMT) series, which
sometimes exceed the maximum permissible exposure includes the infantry squad trainer. Training in this
(MPE) within a few meters (less than 10 m for the un- series involves the projection of images on a screen.
aided eye).”32(p48) The subsequent system version, the The trainee fires a laser at the projected target to record
MILES II, increased usability and training effectiveness a hit or miss. The ISMT-E (enhanced) employs 3-di-
by sensing hits, performing casualty assessment, and mensional technologies and programmable training
recording all “hit” events for after-action analysis. scenarios to expand every aspect of training, including
MILES 2000 is the latest in this family of devices.8 the addition of new weapons or capabilities at any
The technical bulletin also notes that “[h]azards time.33 Table 2-7 lists US laser training systems and
from MILES devices are based on a 10-second expo- their associated weapons.
sure duration. A shorter exposure duration lessens In addition to all of the applications described
the hazard but does not eliminate it.”32(p176) However, above, lasers have many other uses on, behind, and
repetitive or repeated exposures can create a cumula- above the modern battlefield. These include remote
tive exposure that exceeds the safe exposure limits.32 explosive ordnance detonation, chemical and biologi-
The scope and environment of MILES-based training cal dispersion detection, secure communications, and
has been extended considerably by the air-to-ground laser radar (known both as LADAR and LIDAR).

SEARCHING FOR HIGH-ENERGY LASER WEAPONS

When lasers were still very new, ARPA arbitrarily 1975, American early-warning satellites were report-
defined a high-energy laser (HEL) as one that could edly temporarily blinded by Soviet HELs. US defense
produce an output energy of 10 kW. That criterion was officials denied that lasers were involved but not that
quickly raised to 100 kW, and then to 400 kW. Within US satellites were temporarily blinded.37 For those who
the Department of Energy, the megawatt-class laser understood the military’s increasing dependence on
was considered a HEL. As a practical matter, the term satellites, the potential ramifications of an antisatellite
“HEL” is one whose output causes the destruction capability were horrific to contemplate and would
or mission-neutralization of a target, whether it is an constitute a tremendous vulnerability in US strategic
electro-optical missile seeker, a helicopter in attack deterrence.38
mode, an intercontinental ballistic missile in flight, or Not surprisingly, the United States has investigated
a satellite in orbit. For example, mounted on a tracked the possible development of US HEL weapons. As
vehicle, a single-kW (but more likely 10-kW) laser might early as 1962, scientists at the Air Force Special Weap-
be considered a HEL. However, for the purposes of this ons Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, were
section, “HEL” will refer to any laser that satisfied or tasked with calculating the laser energy that would be
exceeded ARPA’s original definition (10 kW). required to destroy an intercontinental ballistic mis-
Rumors in the press and intelligence channels have sile. At the time, there were no lasers in existence that
suggested that Soviet laser weapons were used in could possibly deliver the energy necessary to meet
remote skirmishes from China to Afghanistan.34–36 In this objective.39 However, the CO2 laser was invented

32
 History and Development of Military Lasers

TABLE 2-7 ful device. The armed services purchased the MK-5
scaled up to 150 kW and named it the Tri-Service
US LASER TRAINING SYSTEMS AND
laser (TSL).39
PLATFORM ASSOCIATIONS
The TSL program became a 4-year odyssey that
culminated in December 1972 at Sandia Optical Range,
System Platform Association
Kirtland Air Force Base. There, researchers at the Air
Force Weapons Laboratory mated the 100- to 150-kW
MILES, MILES II, and Individual and crew-served
beam of the TSL-1 CO2 GDL with the Hughes Aircraft
MILES 2000 weapons
field test telescope and held it on a moving target that
AGES/AD family Chapparal, Vulcan, Stinger, and
was approximately 3-in. square for several seconds
TADS
at a distance of 1,760 m. This feat was followed 11
AN/ASQ-193 LATAGS Various months later with the successful use of the same sys-
PGTS TOW and Dragon tem to shoot down a 12-ft drone flying 200 mph over
TWGSS/PGS (AGES II) Kiowa (.50 cal); Apache Hellfire Sandia Range.39
(20 mm)
M55 Trainer All tanks, M2/M3 BFV, and Airborne Laser Laboratory
M551
Javelin FTT Javelin AT system With these objectives met, the next logical step was
ISMT/IST 11 individual and crew-served to install a HEL in an airframe as a weapon testbed. In
weapons March 1972, the Air Force Weapons Laboratory took
ISMT-E 15+ individual and crew-served possession of a Boeing NKC-135A aircraft and instru-
weapons mented it with a 400-kW CO2 GDL. The system was
integrated with a Hughes optical pointing and tracking
AD: air defense system and a Perkin Elmer dynamic alignment system
AGES: air-to-ground engagement system to become the Airborne Laser Laboratory, a program
AT: antitank
platform that lasted 11 years and was successfully
BFV: Bradley fighting vehicle
FTT: field tactical trainer used to shoot down five AIM-9B Sidewinder air-to-air
ISMT: indoor simulated marksmanship trainer missiles in 1983.39
IST: infantry squad trainer
LATAGS: laser tactical air gunnery system
Mobile Test Unit
MILES: multiple integrated laser engagement system
PGS: precision gunnery system
PGTS: precision gunnery training system The US Air Force was not alone in its efforts to devel-
TADS: target acquisition and designation sights op HEL capability (Table 2-8). The US Army mounted
TOW: tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided
an AVCO 30-kW CO2 electric discharge laser in a modi-
TWGSS: tank weapons gunnery simulation system
fied Marine Corps LVTP-7 (landing vehicle, tracked,
personnel-7) amphibious assault vehicle. Christened
in 1964, and by 1967, a CO2 gas dynamic laser (GDL) the “mobile test unit” (MTU), this system successfully
could produce more than enough energy (10 kW) disabled a 300-mph fixed-wing drone and a tethered
to cause severe damage to the human body. Other helicopter drone at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, in
countries may have pursued development of such a 1976. Technically, this system was a medium-powered
lethal weapon, but the United States, instead, remained laser, not a HEL, but the MTU demonstrated what
focused on its goal to develop a laser system that could could be done with less. Unfortunately, it nearly filled
only be used to destroy missiles. Several types of these the interior of the vehicle in which it was mounted and,
laser systems are described below. at that time, was neither scalable nor robust enough
for Army standards. Despite its successful “hard
Tri-Service Laser kill” engagements to structurally destroy drones and
helicopters, the Army’s MTU program ended incon-
By early 1968, Pratt & Whitney’s XLD-1 and AVCO clusively in 1978.39
Corporation’s MK-5 (both were CO2 GDLs) achieved
output beams of 77 kW and 138 kW, respectively. Mobile Army Demonstrator and Multipurpose
These systems created expectations of grossly higher Chemical Laser
output energies as a matter of course. Indeed, the
XLD-1 would achieve 455 kW output in May 1969 In 1981, the mobile Army demonstrator (MAD),
and exceeded 500 kW in 1970. However, in December a 100-kW deuterium-fluoride laser, was built as a
1968, AVCO’s MK-5 appeared to be the more power- prototype for an air defense weapon against missiles

33
 Biomedical Implications of Military Laser Exposure

TABLE 2-8
COMPARISON OF US HIGH-ENERGY LASER TESTBEDS

Program Platform Type Laser Output Successful Engagements

TSL-1 Fixed CO2 GDL 150 kW Drones

ALL KC-135A CO2 GDL 400 kW Sidewinder AA missiles
MTU LVTP-7 CO2 EDL 30 kW Drones and helicopter
MAD * DF 100 kW *
UNFT Fixed DF 400 kW TOW missiles, helicopter
MIRACL Fixed DF 2.2 MW Drones, missiles, and satellite

*In 1981, the MAD was built as a 100-kW deuterium-fluoride laser prototype for an air defense weapon against missiles under the Strategic
Defense Initiative (SDI) umbrella. The MAD was scheduled to be scaled up to 1.4 MW, but deuterium-fluoride technology then proved
unsuitable for a mobility mission. The effort was omitted from the SDI budget in late 1983. It was later continued under its new name, the
Multipurpose Chemical Laser.
AA: air-to-air
ALL: airborne laser laboratory
CO2: carbon dioxide
DF: deuterium-fluoride
EDL: electrical discharge laser
GDL: gas dynamic laser
LVTP: landing vehicle, tracked, personnel
MAD: mobile Army demonstrator
MIRACL: midinfrared advanced chemical laser
MTU: mobile test unit
TOW: tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided
TSL: tri-service laser
UNFT: unified Navy field test

under the Strategic Defense Initiative umbrella. The megawatt-class, continuous wave, chemical laser built in
MAD was scheduled to be scaled up to 1.4 MW, but the United States. The MIRACL system is a closed-loop,
deuterium-fluoride technology then proved unsuit- 2.2-MW, deuterium-fluoride HEL. In the late 1970s,
able for a mobility mission, so the effort was omitted the Navy tested and proved the pointing and tracking
from the Strategic Defense Initiative budget in late technology then under development for MIRACL’s
1983. With Army funding to Bell Aerospace Textron, partner, the Sea Lite beam director (Hughes Aircraft
the MAD laser survived under a new name: the mul- Company, Westchester, CA). Sea Lite has a 28,000-lb,
tipurpose chemical laser.40 1.8-m aperture gimbaled telescope and optics that can
focus from 400 m to infinity while tracking a small cross-
Unified Navy Field Test Program section missile flying directly at it. MIRACL and Sea
Lite have a long record of successful tests against highly
While the US Army tested the MTU, the US Navy dynamic targets, including 500-mph drones, supersonic
entered the HEL arena. In 1978, the Navy mated a Vandal missiles, and satellites in orbit37,41 (see Table 2-8).
400-kW TRW Inc (Cleveland, OH), deuterium-fluoride Although some of the US HEL systems could have
HEL with a Hughes pointer-tracker. Dubbed the Uni- been adapted as weapon systems, none were devel-
fied Navy Field Test Program, this system destroyed oped as such. Rather, these systems were testbeds
four out of five tube-launched, optically tracked, built to demonstrate and delimit specific types of
wire-guided antitank missiles in flight. Later, a UH-1 technology and packaging. Testing revealed that the
Iroquois helicopter was targeted and destroyed.38,39 HELs were too large, heavy, expensive, and hazard-
ous. Deuterium-fluoride systems discharge deadly
Midinfrared Advanced Chemical Laser waste gases, which was a primary fault of the MAD
system originally intended for deployment; gases
The midinfrared advanced chemical laser (MIRACL)41 from the MAD were found dangerous to unprotected
was built in the mid-1970s by TRW for the Navy at White personnel in the immediate vicinity of its discharges.
Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Located at the High- All HEL systems also created extreme heat and were
Energy Laser Systems Test Facility, MIRACL was the first technologically difficult to operate.

34
 History and Development of Military Lasers

SEARCHING FOR LOW-ENERGY LASER WEAPONS

As noted above, the US Army’s medium-energy Close-Combat Laser Assault Weapon

MTU laser program ended inconclusively in 1978,
despite successful hard-kill engagements against In the early 1980s, the US Army commenced devel-
drones and helicopters. Although discontinued, the opment of a laser system known as the close-combat
MTU program demonstrated what could be achieved laser assault weapon (C-CLAW), nicknamed “Road-
by lasers with energy less than that produced by very runner.” The C-CLAW used modestly low-powered
high-energy laser systems. lasers to attack and neutralize electro-optic sights,
Certain foreign developments and activities night vision equipment, and helicopter canopies. The
prompted the United States to conclude that although system employed the primary frequency of pulsed
low-energy lasers (LELs) were incapable of produc- CO2 at 1 kW and both the primary and doubled
ing hard kills, the LELs could certainly be applied to frequencies of Nd:YAG. As a consequence of the lat-
achieve “soft kills.” Soft kills are successful attacks ter, the system was quite capable of inflicting severe
against a variety of essential enemy systems and com- damage to enemy eyes, although these were not its
ponents (eg, sensors; computer functions; software intended targets. The goal was to build a 900-lb sys-
and memory; electrical integrity; command, control, tem to be mounted adjunct on an armored vehicle,
and communications nodes; or biological functions) but by 1983, the system had grown too heavy (3,000
sufficient to cause system failure or degradation to lb) and was too expensive to meet specifications.
the point of unreliability. For example, a LEL system As a result, the C-CLAW program was canceled.36
might be used to inflict serious damage to the gun-
ner’s aiming sights on an enemy tank, which, in turn, Stingray
could effectively degrade the ability of the gunner
to engage any distant target. An enemy tank that Around the same time, the US Army contracted
cannot attack or defend its tactical effective range is with Martin Marietta for a new system, the AN/VLQ-
effectively “dead.” 7, or “Stingray,” an adjunct, bolt-on system designed
The most desirable soft targets susceptible to degra- for the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle and other
dation by LELs consist of all types of optics, including assault platforms.8,36,42 The Stingray uses advanced
low-light and night vision equipment, electro-optic technology and risk-assessment assumptions to
sensors, aircraft canopies and windscreens, and, quite locate, acquire, and target enemy optical systems
incidentally, human eyes. It takes more energy to in focal alignment with the system. In a target-rich
degrade all but the latter, so although low energy by environment where a single target must be selected
definition, the safest LEL weapons require a “one- among several, the assumption is made that the
two punch” involving different energy levels. Table greatest threat to a given vehicle or platform is the
2-9 compares US LEL weapons and countermeasure one that has its gunnery or guidance optics trained
systems described below. on the vehicle or platform.

TABLE 2-9
US LOW-ENERGY LASER WEAPONS AND COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS, PLATFORMS, AND
TARGETS

System Known As Platform Targets

C-CLAW Roadrunner Armored vehicle Optics

AN/VLQ-7 Stingray Bradley Optics
AN/ALQ-191 Cameo Bluejay AH-64 Optics
AN/ALQ-179 Coronet Prince Various airframes Optics
Jaguar Jaguar M1A2 Abrams Optics
Outrider Outrider HMMWV and LAV Optics

C-CLAW: close-combat laser assault weapon

HMMWV: high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle
LAV: light-armored vehicle

35
 Biomedical Implications of Military Laser Exposure

The Stingray employs a very low-power laser to Outrider

scan the battlefield with energy pulses. When a fo-
cal plane is determined to be in alignment with the The Outrider is another Stingray derivative, this
Stingray, indicating that it is acquiring or tracking the one developed by the Marine Corps. The Outrider can
system, some of the Stingray’s emitted laser energy be mounted on a HMMWV, light-armored vehicle,
will be reflected back to and detected by the system or other high-mobility wheeled vehicle and can be
at an intensity well above the background scatter. The used to augment reconnaissance forces. The Outrider
principle is much the same as that responsible for the could also be deployed with an armored spearhead
retroreflection of a flashlight or headlight beam in an force to protect the advancing armor by locating and
animal’s eyes at night. The light reflected back is only degrading immediate optically guided or adjusted
visible when the animal (or optical system) is looking threats.42,43
directly at the emitter.
When the Stingray detects optical reflection, the Jaguar
system centers its crosshairs on the point of intense
reflectivity and fires a more powerful laser at the The Jaguar system began development in 1985
targeted optic. This more powerful laser degrades, and passed validation testing in 1988. This system
damages, or destroys the enemy optical system. The was designed for use as an adjunct antioptics sys-
Stingray then returns to its previous search mode to tem with the M1A2 Abrams tank. The Jaguar was
identify additional targets. The Stingray’s search laser known to use a laser, but that is all that can reliably
is not hazardous to enemy eyes at tactical ranges, but be said of it.36
its weapon laser is.36,42,43 As a safety precaution, the
Stingray is programmed with a library of common Other Attempts to Produce Weapons-Mounted Lasers
animal optical cross-sections of reflectivity and thus for the Battlefield
will not react to retroreflection from these animal
eyes. Despite the many aforementioned examples of
The Stingray has been extensively tested and pro- laser countermeasure and weapon systems, no one
duced in limited numbers. It was deployed during the has yet managed to build the handheld laser ray gun
Persian Gulf War but was not used because the receiv- envisioned by Frederick Schollhammer. Attempts
ing unit had neither trained with it nor integrated its have been made, however. When the US Army first
tactical employment into its battle drills. The Stingray expressed interest in acquiring a rifle-mounted laser
has since been mothballed and production canceled, weapon for the purpose of attacking sensors and
but its effectiveness did not go unnoticed. vision, at least two companies answered the call, fol-
lowed by a military response.
Cameo Bluejay
Dazer
In 1987, a similar program was initiated to develop
an airborne optical countermeasure system for AH-64 Allied Corporation produced the Dazer,43 a poten-
attack helicopters. Officially the AN/VLQ-191, more tially tunable LEL, based on an Alexandrite analogue,
commonly known as Cameo Bluejay, this system ap- with a frequency spread of 700 to 815 nm. The Dazer
plied some of the same assumptions and technologies system was powered by a battery backpack and de-
as the Stingray36,43 but incorporated growth require- signed to attack sensitive sensors such as low-light
ments that could not yet be met. The Cameo Bluejay television, night vision equipment, and human eyes.
program was suspended in 1989 to await technology As its name implied, Dazer was designed to tempo-
evolution. rarily “dazzle” vision but not to produce permanent
blindness.
Coronet Prince
Cobra
Other, similar systems also exist (see Table 2-9).
The Coronet Prince (AN/ALQ-179) is a US Air Force McDonnell Douglas produced a similar rifle-
pod-mounted adjunct system similar to the Stingray in mounted system dubbed Cobra, based on a different
concept. The Coronet Prince is a LEL countermeasure frequency range and using different output energy.
system designed to locate, target, and neutralize en- Cobra weapons were developed and tested in the
emy air defense systems dependent upon optical and 1980s but were never integrated into the US armed
electro-optical acquisition, tracking, or guidance.36,43 forces.43-45

36
 History and Development of Military Lasers

TABLE 2-10 Saber 203 can also be used as a laser designator and
can counter night vision devices. In 1995, it was used
US LOW-ENERGY RIFLE-MOUNTED LASER
successfully by US Marines in Somalia.48
WEAPONS, DEVELOPMENT STATUS, AND
TARGETS
LX-5 Laser Diode Illuminator
System Known As Status Targets
The US Air Force also developed the LX-5 Laser Diode
Illuminator, which is a compact, lightweight system for
Dazer Dazer Prototype Electro-optics and eyes
illuminating the battlefield at night. The LX-5 operates
Cobra Cobra Prototype Electro-optics and eyes
in the near-infrared range and is used with night vision
AN/PLQ-5 LCMS Canceled Electro-optics and eyes
goggles. The system uses 230 W of power at 28 V and
LCMS: laser countermeasures system provides up to 9.5 W of illumination, adjustable from spot
to floodlight size. Completely self-contained, the LX-5 can
be operated by battery pack or platform electrical system.49
Laser Countermeasures System
Pocket Laser Communicator
The Army initiated a new program to develop
a human-portable laser countermeasures system Among the most novel and innovative applications
(LCMS) from the ground up. Initially classified as of laser technology is the US Air Force’s pocket laser
the AN/PLQ-5, the LCMS was a rifle-mounted laser communicator (PLC). This prototype is meant for secure
system that resembled the Cobra and employed three communications between aircraft in formation but could
wavelengths.43-45 In 1995, the LCMS program was be adapted for ground maneuver units when radio jam-
restructured. Its weapon was removed in response to ming is encountered. In 1978, laser line-of-sight trans-
the Department of Defense prohibition on blinding missions of data up to 1 gigabit per second were dem-
lasers (1995).46 US efforts to field a rifle-like “ray gun” onstrated at White Sands Missile Range over a 12-mile
are summarized in Table 2-10. distance. The PLC is a lightweight, compact laser device
capable of transmitting and receiving secure voice line-
Nonweapon Low-Energy Lasers on the Modern of-sight communications without radio transmission.
Battlefield Its effective range is 0.6 miles, but this can be increased
to as much as 1.2 miles by using a narrow beam.50,51
Target Location and Observation System The PLC system consists of a transmitter, receiver,
and headset. The transmitter contains a diode laser
Although the LCMS itself was canceled, a good deal that operates at near-infrared wavelengths and does
of its technology investment was salvaged by transi- not interfere with night vision equipment. Additional
tion to the man-packed target location and observation wavelengths are also being investigated. The PLC’s
system (TLOS), designated AN/PLQ-8. TLOS used a transmitter is about the size of a miniature flashlight and
gallium-aluminum-arsenide (GaAlAs) diode array can function as an infrared illuminator. A lens is used
that allowed individual soldiers to find threat optical to vary beam size from a pinpoint to a floodlight. The
and electro-optical surveillance devices and provide receiver contains the electronics, battery, and infrared
covert illumination for fire direction, improved night detector and is powered by a 9-V, rechargeable battery
vision sighting, and landing zone marking. However, that allows 4 hours of operation. The receiver weighs
since TLOS emissions exceeded radiation protection about 8 oz and is roughly the size of a cassette tape. Two
exposure limits, the TLOS was not widely fielded.47 different headsets are available. One is a lightweight,
adjustable model that covers one ear and has a small,
Saber 203 Laser Illuminator adjustable microphone. The second is a combined ear-
phone and microphone that is inserted into the ear and
The US Air Force also developed a “dazzle” device, operates on the principle of bone conduction.50,51
known as the Saber 203 Laser Illuminator.43 This device
uses a semiconductor laser fitted into an unmodified Rapid Optical Beam Steering
M-203 40-mm grenade launcher attached to a stan-
dard M-16 rifle. Saber 203 illuminates an opponent The rapid optical beam steering (ROBS) system is
with harmless, low-power laser light to an effective a one-of-a-kind laser radar system operating at White
range of 300 m, which impairs an adversary’s ability Sands Missile Range. ROBS utilizes a 0.5-m aperture
to fire a weapon or otherwise threaten friendly forces. optical system, two tunable 3- to 5-μm imaging cam-

37
 Biomedical Implications of Military Laser Exposure

TABLE 2-11
OTHER US LOW-ENERGY LASER DEVICES AND THEIR FUNCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

System Function Objectives

TLOS Illuminator Illumination, sighting, and marking

Saber 203 Illuminator Riot and security police crowd control
LX-5 Illuminator Surface illumination from air
PLC Communicator Secure line-of-sight voice
ROBS Laser Radar High-resolution target tracking
LNS/LINS Navigation Laser ring gyro and global positioning
CAINS Navigation Carrier aircraft LINS
LST Target Tracker Relates target location to self

CAINS: carrier aircraft inertial navigational system

LINS: laser inertial navigational system
LNS: laser navigation system
LST: laser spot tracker
PLC: pocket laser communicator
ROBS: rapid optical beam steering
TLOS: target location and observation system

eras, and a CO2 laser radar for range and Doppler Laser Spot Tracker
measurements. The optical system is based on a roving
fovea design, enabling signal target tracking over large Numerous laser spot trackers are also in service.
angles at a high-track update rate and rapid retargeting Normally aircraft associated, these devices lock
among multiple targets. Although this is currently a onto the reflected energy from a laser-marked or
singular system, it hints at what is possible.52 A trans- designated target and define the direction of the
portable ROBS system was under development in 2003. target relative to itself. The pilot can then self-desig-
nate the target for an LGM, relay target coordinates,
Laser Navigation Systems
or select another type of precision or conventional
A host of laser navigation systems, laser inertial munition for delivery to the target. Once the laser
navigation systems, and laser inertial navigation at- spot tracker achieves target lock, the operator who
tack systems have also been in use by the military for designated the target can cease designation activ-
many years. These systems employ a three-axis ring ity and exit the area or designate another target.
laser gyroscope and laser inertial navigation system. Table 2-11 presents a few of the many other uses
Carrier aircraft use one of several generations of carrier to which low-energy lasers can be applied on the
aircraft inertial navigation systems. modern battlefield.

RETURNING TO HIGHER ENERGIES

Early efforts in the 1970s to develop HEL systems a tactical air defense system.53 Nautilus was a demon-
were quite successful in demonstrating that HELs stration program, which evolved into two concepts:
could be used to destroy dynamic aerial targets. Al- (1) a static (immobile) system, the tactical high-energy
though the technology demonstrator systems were laser (THEL) and (2) a mobile system, the mobile tacti-
large and heavy, their effectiveness was not lost on the cal high-energy laser (MTHEL).
military. By the mid-1990s, a multitude of technolo-
gies had matured to inspire yet another round of HEL Tactical High-Energy Laser
development projects in the United States.
Nautilus used a fraction of the available energy
Nautilus
from the MIRACL to test acquisition, pointing, and
A US Army program known as Nautilus was tracking equipment that would be mated to a scaled-
launched as the first step toward fulfilling an April down MIRACL and called the THEL. In February 1996,
1995 mission needs statement for the development of only 9 months after the program had begun, Nautilus

38
 History and Development of Military Lasers

successfully destroyed a short-range rocket in flight. sile and a 1.5-m beam director inside the aircraft nose
Later that same year, the United States agreed to would focus the ABL beam onto the target missile.
make THEL available to Israel and thus began a joint By heating a spot on the missile’s fuel tank or an arc
effort.53,54 around the missile’s circumference, the beam could
THEL underwent a series of successful tests, but then lock onto and destroy the missile near its launch
packaging the THEL was no easy task. It had a large area within seconds. However, unsolved technical
footprint and essentially was a permanent installation. problems, failure to meet range requirements, and
The logical next step was to package the system com- budgetary reality finally caught up with the ABL,
ponents so they could be moved and set up whenever which was canceled in December 2011.58
and wherever the situation demanded.
Advanced Tactical Laser
Mobile Tactical High-Energy Laser
In 2002, the Special Operations Command entered
Much has been written about the MTHEL. Concept into a contract with Boeing to install an underbelly
renderings have been produced and widely publicized turret on a Lockheed C-130 Hercules to direct a 100 kW
in a multivehicle configuration. In whatever bread- air-to-ground laser, which became officially known as
board or prototype configuration MTHEL was eventu- the advanced tactical laser. A scaled-down chemical
ally tested, it performed 28 in-flight kills of Katyusha oxygen-iodine laser was produced, tested, and fitted
rockets and engaged and destroyed multiple artillery into the aircraft. The turret was developed by L-3 Com-
projectiles in flight.55 munications (New York, NY) and Brashear (Pittsburgh,
Technical details of the THEL and MTHEL have PA); prototype testing began in 2007 and continued
been kept as closely guarded secrets, despite much into 2009. Although the tests were favorable against 3 x
speculation. The fact that MIRACL was used in early 3-foot stationary targets and moving vehicles, the pro-
tests suggests involvement of a deuterium-fluoride gram has disappeared. Its disappearance is generally
laser. It is probable that THEL and MTHEL are ben- credited to a 2008 Air Force Scientific Advisory Board’s
eficiaries of the US Army’s investment in the multi- conclusion that the advanced tactical laser testbed was
purpose chemical laser program of the mid-1980s. not operationally useful. By 2010, development and
These technologies were shared with Israel. However, testing presumably ceased (no further advancements
THEL’s large footprint and MTHEL’s reported lack of were cited in the open literature).57,59,60
ruggedness, coupled with a toxic and corrosive fuel
and extreme heat evacuation, brought the programs Aero-Optic Beam Controller
to a close.
The airborne laser concept is not entirely dead.
Airborne Laser The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA, successor to ARPA) and the Air Force
About the same time Nautilus was hailed a techni- Research Laboratory are now pursuing another air-
cal success, the US Air Force received $1.1 billion in borne laser project. Capitalizing on a breakthrough
funding to begin building the military airborne laser in aero-adaptive optics dubbed the aero-optic beam
(ABL), designated officially as the YAL-1A (Boeing, controller turret, the unusual approach is to perfect
Seattle, WA). ABL’s predecessor, the Airborne Laser a protruding, 360° turret that can deliver a focused
Laboratory, had used a 400-kW CO2 GDL in a milita- beam to enemy aircraft and missiles above, below,
rized Boeing 707. ABL used a megawatt-class chemical and behind the aircraft using high-energy lasers.
oxygen-iodine laser in a militarized Boeing 747-400F. Two major components (and a lot of minor ones) are
The ABL was designed to detect and destroy theater still needed: (1) an airframe and (2) a laser. However,
ballistic missiles in the powered boost phase of flight these component issues have not hampered aero-
immediately after missile launch. Infrared, wide-field optic beam controller development. The decision to
telescopes installed along the length of the aircraft’s terminate the ABL has divorced the concept from
fuselage would detect the missile plume from a loiter the chemical oxygen-iodine laser, while concurrently
altitude of 40,000 feet at ranges up to several hundred freeing an aircraft defensive laser from the size and
kilometers.56,57 expense of a militarized and heavily modified Boe-
The ABL’s pointing and tracking system would ing 747-400 host. DARPA’s thinking is that there are
track the target missile, compute its launch location, plenty of other lighter, scalable, and cooler lasers to
and predict impact location. The turret at the nose of select from, and if the right laser does not exist today,
the aircraft would then swivel toward the target mis- it might exist tomorrow.61

39
 Biomedical Implications of Military Laser Exposure

High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle HEL MD needs a target cue from a local or networked
Laser Ordnance Neutralization System radar system to acquire a target. The 2015 demonstra-
tor requires a driver and a system operator (gunner)
Technologically reliable and using considerably less to operate the system with a laptop computer and an
energy than required for air defense is the HMMWV X-Box (Microsoft, Redmond, WA) console.65,66
laser ordnance neutralization system, often called The 100 kW milestone target has been achieved
Zeus. Zeus’s initial development was by the Air Force by Textron Defense Systems (Providence, RI) and
as the mobile ordnance disrupter system, using a Northrop-Grumman Corp (Falls Church, VA). In
0.3 kW Nd:YAG and 0.8 kW CO2 laser fitted into an early 2010, under the Joint Technology Office’s Joint
M113A2 armored personnel carrier. The program then High-Power Solid-State Laser Program, each team
transitioned to the Army, and a 0.5 kW laser was pack- demonstrated average power levels in excess of 100
aged on a HMMWV. In March 2003, the 0.5 kW Zeus kW under laboratory conditions. Textron announced
was deployed to Afghanistan at the request of the vice its achievement on the same day the Army awarded
chief of staff of the Army. During a 6-month period, it Northrop Grumman a contract to install its laser at the
destroyed 200 ordnance items. solid-state laser testbed experiment site at the Army’s
In early 2004, Zeus was upgraded to 1 kW, and later High-Energy Laser System Test Facility at White Sands,
that year, the laser was replaced with a 2 kW Yb:glass, where the laser will be aligned with the THEL beam
diode-pumped fiber laser weighing 2,000 lb less than its control system for performance demonstrations.
predecessor. In 2006, Zeus was deployed to Iraq, where Northrop Grumman’s solid-state laser (SSL) also
it had mixed success because it often could not burn achieved a turn-on time of less than 1 second and at-
through materials hiding improvised explosive devices. tained 5 minutes of continuous operation with very
The latest generation of Zeus uses a 10 kW solid-state heat good beam quality and efficiency. SSLs are important
capacity neodymium-doped glass disc laser. Zeus applies because they are pumped by electric diodes, not nox-
remote viewing of the doubled frequency of neodymium, ious or toxic chemical reactions fueled by tons of pre-
which is visibly green, to point its otherwise invisible cursors, and create far less heat than chemical lasers. If
primary wavelength onto unexploded ordnance. The a platform can generate the required electricity, it can
10 kW laser then burns through the metal body of the fire its SSL laser. Therefore, it is assumed that the new
munition and causes detonation from a distance of 200 requirement of 120 kW can be achieved.67,68
or more meters. The Zeus program is now managed by
the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command.62–64 Excalibur

High-Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator and DARPA is funding a 21-element optical phased ar-
Mobile Demonstrator ray (OPA) that combines three identical 10-cm diameter
clusters of seven tightly packed fiber lasers. The array
In 2007, Boeing was awarded a contract to begin allows each individual fiber to correct for atmospheric
development of a truck-mounted laser weapon sys- turbulence at levels comparable to larger, conventional
tem to counter rockets, artillery, and mortar rounds optical solutions. Power efficiencies of 35% have been
(C-RAM); unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); and achieved in near-perfect beam quality with precise target-
cruise missiles. A prototype of the HEL technology ing at 6.4 km at kW levels thus far. Tests were conducted
demonstrator (TD), or HEL TD, was delivered exactly at several tens of meters (100–200 m) above ground level,
4 years later at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, and then where the density of Earth’s atmosphere can degrade
underwent rigorous component testing and tweaking laser beam quality and propagation. The goal is a 100 kW
at the Army’s solid-state laser testbed experiment site package 10 times lighter and more compact than previ-
at White Sands Missile Range. In the next phase of its ously tested, comparable laser systems. Cooling at the 100
development, the system was renamed the HEL mobile kW level is still an obstacle, but DARPA assesses the OPA
demonstrator (MD), or HEL MD. Currently using a 10 technology as extremely promising and will pursue it.69
kW solid-state laser, HEL MD was initially envisioned
to be boosted to 50 kW and eventually to 100 kW; these High-Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System
goals have been increased to 60 kW and 120 kW.
The Army intends to upgrade the system with Meanwhile, General Atomics (GA) (San Diego, CA)
Lockheed Martin’s 60 kW fiber laser. The HEL MD is has developed a third generation (Gen 3) tactical laser
completely self-sustaining on an eight-wheeled, heavy, weapon module with a single laser oscillator produc-
expanded mobility tactical truck and is designed to ing a single beam with 75 kW output. The module
be parked for stationary site defense; however, the was built under DARPA’s high-energy liquid laser

40
 History and Development of Military Lasers

area defense system (HELLADS) architecture, which tactical ranges regarded as close (maximum range
requires a 150 kW laser that can be installed in a tacti- is classified). The system can use a stand-alone or
cal aircraft for air-to-ground engagements, weighs Phalanx-integrated close-in weapon system (General
less than 5 kg/kW, and has a volume of 3 cm3. To meet Dynamics, West Falls Church, VA); is currently in-
HELLADS requirements, two Gen 3 laser oscillators stalled on the USS Ponce; and is serving in the Persian
can be coupled together to produce a single 150 kW Gulf at the time of this writing. The captain of the USS
beam and still beat all HELLADS size and weight Ponce received permission to use LaWS operationally
requirements, or combine four to produce a 300 kW if the situation warrants such engagement. The system
beam. The Gen 3 is powered by a compact lithium-ion is operated using a standard monitor and gaming con-
battery that can be recharged by any mobile platform. trol system. The LaWS is potentially scalable upward
The current module is sized for installation in GA’s to about 100 kW, but this has not been demonstrated.
Avenger unmanned aerial vehicle, but GA intends to Navy leadership has said the follow-on system, rated
place the Gen 3 in competition for multiple programs at 100 to 150 kW, will go to sea for demonstration trials
and program upgrades, including the HEL MD when by FY 2018.57,69,73 76–79
it progresses to the 120 kW requirement.70,71
Maritime Laser Demonstration
Potential Shipboard Lasers
The Maritime Laser Demonstration (Northrop
A shift in attention from chemical lasers to SSLs has Grumman, Falls Church, VA) utilizes seven 15 kW slab
reduced the size, weight, and complexity of systems, SSLs that coherently create a single beam of about 105
with rewards similar to those projected by DARPA in kW. The Maritime Laser Demonstration is presumed
the airborne domain. For example, there is no longer scalable to 300 kW using current technologies.
any need for enormous stores of hazardous chemi-
cal fuels. SSLs require one fuel—electricity—which Solid-State Laser Technology Maturation Program
surface vessels can generate in abundance. Also, the
problem of heat evacuation has potentially been re- The deployment, demonstration, and operational
duced by orders of magnitude. status of the Navy’s LaWS has resulted in its ex-
Three types of lasers are currently being developed tended deployment in the Persian Gulf, where it
for potential shipboard use: (1) fiber SSLs, (2) slab SSLs, drew the attention of Iran. In early July 2015, the
and (3) free electron lasers. Fiber and slab SSLs are ma- USS Forrest Sherman (DDG-98) and its attached
ture technologies that appear very promising.57,72 73 Us- helicopter came under repeated laser targeting
ing these, the US Navy has been pursuing development by an Iranian flagged merchant vessel. As a result
of three systems: (1) the tactical laser system, (2) the of this and other laser incidents, Navy Secretary
laser weapon system, and (3) the maritime laser dem- Ray Mabus concluded that the Navy should have
onstration. All three systems have been tested against a single group in charge of all directed energy
over-water surface and aerial threat-representative to understand how each project met the Navy’s
targets at various times since 2009.57,73 overall needs. The Navy’s SSL Technology Matu-
ration (SSL TM) program was initiated to produce
Tactical Laser System a 100 to 150 kW laser for at-sea testing in 2018, to
provide increased effectiveness against small boats
The tactical laser system is a 10 kW laser developed and UAVs. This is another program in which the
under contract to be integrated into the MK 38 Mod GA Gen 3 laser module may be considered.69,70,72,73
2 close-in antiaircraft or small surface vessel ship-
defense machine gun system. The system is referred Ground-Based Air Defense Directed Energy On-
to as the MK 38 tactical laser system with an output the-Move
power of 10 kW supplied by a Boeing SSL fiber laser.
System integration is by BAE Systems, Farnborough, Included in the programs the Navy secretary al-
United Kingdom.73–75 luded to is the Navy’s pursuit of a C-RAM (now called
C-RAMD to include drones) capability, secondary to
Laser Weapon System anti-UAV and anticruise missile capability, on a land
vehicle for the Marine Corps, but one quite unlike
The AN/SEQ-3 (XN-1) Laser Weapon System the Army’s HEL technology demonstrator or HEL
(LaWS) is a 30 to 33 kW fiber optic SSL that integrates MD. Whereas the Army’s HEL HD and HEL MD are
six 5.4 kW lasers into a converged beam-on-target at stationary site defense systems when deployed, the

41
 Biomedical Implications of Military Laser Exposure

Marines require a system that performs its mission power output of 25 kW. The laser weapon itself must
while moving. The requirement is named ground- not exceed 2,500 lb and must be able to fire at full
based air defense directed energy on-the-move (the power, cumulatively or continuously, for 2 minutes,
unwieldy G-BAD DE OTM acronym is usually short- followed by a 20-minute cool-down and recharge to
ened to G-BAD). 80% total capacity. The envisioned weapon system
The initial testbed will be installed on a HMMWV, (completion expected in 2020) is not a one-vehicle
but the final expeditionary HEL system is to be system but will consist of the laser weapon vehicle,
installed on the four-wheeled joint light tactical a volume-surveillance radar vehicle, and a fully
vehicle (JLTV) being built for the Army, Marine integrated command, control, and communications
Corps, and Special Operations Command as a new element with target acquisition, tracking, and fire-
vehicle and, where applicable, the eventual replace- control capabilities. The latter two elements may
ment for the HMMWV. Raytheon (Waltham, MA) be able to network to more than one laser weapon
has been contracted to deliver a fully integrated, system, although this has not been publicly stated
short-range laser weapon system with a minimum as a requirement.63,77,80

TABLE 2-12
RECENT HIGHER-ENERGY LASER SYSTEM TYPES AND PURPOSES

System Laser Type Energy Purpose

THEL DF HEL Antimissile and antiartillery

MTHEL DF HEL Antimissile and antiartillery
ABL COIL HEL Antitheater ballistic missile
ATL COIL 100-kW Air-to-ground tactical support
ABC To be determined* To be determined* Antimissile and antiaircraft
Zeus HLONS Nd:Glass SSHC 10-kW Unexploded ordnance
HEL TD/MD Fiber SSL 10-kW Counter rocket, artillery, and mortar
Excalibur Fiber SSL Classified Aerial and surface
HELLADS Classified 75-kW Air-to-ground engagements
TLS Fiber SSL 10-kW Close-in ship defense
LaWS Fiber SSL 33-kW Close-in ship defense
MLD Slab SSL 105-kW Close-in ship defense
SSL TM Fiber/Slab SSL 150-kW Close-in ship defense
GBAD DE OTM Fiber SSL 25-kW C-RAM, UAV, and cruise missile

*The ABC is a 360° turret that can deliver a focused beam to enemy aircraft and missiles above, below, and behind the aircraft using high-
energy lasers. Laser system type has not been determined.
ABC: aero-optic beam controller
ABL: airborne laser
ATL: advanced tactical laser
COIL: chemical oxygen-iodine laser
C-RAM: counter-rocket, artillery, mortar
DF: deuterium-fluoride
GBAD DE OTM: ground-based air defense directed-energy on-the-move
HEL MD: high-energy laser mobile demonstrator
HEL TD: high-energy laser technical demonstrator
HELLADS: high-energy liquid laser area defense system
HLONS: high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle laser ordnance neutralization system
LaWS: laser weapon system
MLD: maritime laser demonstration
MTHEL: mobile tactical high-energy laser
Nd:Glass: neodymium glass
SSHC: solid-state heat capacity
SSL TM: solid-state laser technology maturation
THEL: tactical high-energy laser
TLS: tactical laser system
UAV: unmanned aerial vehicle

42
 History and Development of Military Lasers

Raytheon’s contract award grew out of an earlier Table 2-12 provides a succinct summary of recent
demonstration program, the laser area defense system higher energy laser programs. Serious HEL programs
(LADS), which used an Air Force Research Laboratory also exist for shipboard defense against surface-
20 kW IPG Photonics (Oxford, MA) fiber laser and a skimming antiship missiles and ground-based anti-
beam director mated to a Phalanx mount. The Naval satellite weapons. At present, these efforts exist only
Surface Warfare Center selected Kratos Defense & as research programs, but history has shown that such
Security Solutions (San Diego, CA) to develop the programs can lead to successful application. Indeed,
LaWS. Raytheon’s 20 kW fiber SSL has grown to 25 the successes of early research are still obvious today
kW for the G-BAD.57 in midenergy laser projects and systems.

SUMMARY

The invention of the laser was very quickly and optics. Dazzlers used a rifle-mounted low-energy laser
successfully applied to military tasks involving line to temporally disrupt sensors, optics, and eyes at tactical
of sight from laser to target, including rangefinding, ranges; at close range, these lasers could cause perma-
target illumination, marking, and designation. The lat- nent eye damage. These weapons were mothballed or
ter evolved concurrently with the ability to place laser discontinued due to a policy decision stemming from
seekers on maneuverable munitions. These applica- the United Nations Vienna Protocol IV of 1995.
tions involved low-energy lasers. Weapons required As technologies matured, higher-energy lasers
higher energies. were again investigated, this time with an expecta-
America’s initial search for high-energy laser weap- tion of fielding a system. The first efforts were again
ons embodied a willingness to try anything. Early too large, too complex, too dangerous, too expensive,
quests were exploratory programs that solved impor- or a combination thereof. Only at the lower end of
tant engineering problems concerning coupling, point- high energy were successful systems deployed, due
ing, tracking, beam quality, and dynamic focusing, to entirely to breakthrough advances in solid-state laser
name but a few. But the lasers themselves were large technologies.
and somewhat fragile and posed problems associated The United States has not been alone in its efforts
with their excessive heat, dangerous gases, recovery to develop lasers for use on the battlefield. The former
time, and complex logistical requirements. Much was Soviet Union (now Russia), France, Germany, the
learned in the process. United Kingdom, and China are five of the nine or
Low-energy weapons can be described as blinders ten nations that have tried or succeeded in developing
and dazzlers, both of which were designed to serve laser weapons. As far as is known, all have abandoned
as countermeasures to optical systems. Blinders used the search for a megawatt class of weaponry and, in-
a scanning laser to acquire on-axis optical or electro- stead, have found promise in the revolution in SSLs,
optical targets and a more energetic laser to damage the especially fiber SSLs.

Acknowledgment
Distribution A: Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. PA Case No.: TSRL-PA-2015-0119.

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