The US Army receives its first powerful and ultra-compact laser cannons

In the wake of Lockheed Martin’s announcement of the arrival of the cannon laserlaser the most powerful in the world with 500 kW, now comes that of Northrop Grumman. The manufacturer has just delivered to the American government a compact laser called Phantom. It foreshadows what the laser weapons of the future should be by combining a certain power with a small size, while being robust enough to join the battlefields. It must be said that for the moment, the most powerful laser cannons remain gigantic and very heavy. With the Phantom, we are certainly very far from the power of feufeu of Lockheed Martin’s current 300 kW cannon, since it remains limited to 10 kW shots. On the other hand, the device has a limited weight of 90 kilos and occupies only 0.3 m³i.e. practically the size of a small fridgefridge.

A laser cannon, small and strong

It could be transported by two soldiers and its reinforced carcass allows it to withstand shocks. On the other hand, this laser module is worthless if it is not nested with other essential elements. For it to be a complete weapon system, it must be connected to a power supply and added to it with optical systems to acquire the target and impact it with the laser beam. Despite everything, miniaturizing a laser weapon to this extent, while having a substantial power is already a feat. On the side of Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer claims to be able to increase the power from 300 kW to 500 kW in a system of the same volumevolume. It is also a feat, but this type of armament remains gigantic. Much less powerful, Northrop Grumman’s laser could be deployed on fast vehicles or forward positions to shoot down small dronesdrones.