Into the Future Hi-tech laser, microwave weapons on Indian Navy’s wishlist

[proud_indian]

Laser Science & Technology Centre (LASTEC) Delhi- LASTEC Delhi- DRDO

Achievements

• kW class engineered vehicle integrated Directed Energy System for stand-off disposal of ordnances (LORDS).
• CEMILAC Certification of IRGMT & LGB Kit Tester
• Delivered two numbers each of IRGMT and LGB kit Tester to ADA, Bangalore for LCA.

CEMILAC Certified IRGMT

CEMILAC Certified LGB Kit Tester
LASTEC is involved in the fabrication of Nd:YAG & Nd:Yttria transparent laser ceramics. Ceramic technology has advantages such as fabrication of large aperture size, composite structure and high rare earth ion dopant concentration. Fabrication of Nd:Yttria as futuristic laser material, is possible by ceramic technology only.

Transparent Laser Ceramics​

Development of 10 kW supersonic Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser. This led to development of following technologies.

• Vertical extraction scalable jet based singlet oxygen generator. Supersonic grid nozzle configuration. Liquid Reagent supply system.
• Large flow iodine system. Balloon based chlorine supply system.
• Laser chamber and multimode Resonator configuration.
• This led to development of Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser with the highest power of 10 kW class in the country at that time, developed as part of project TEJAS and executed in 2001.

10 kW supersonic Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser​

20 kW class direct atmospheric Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL)​

Development of direct exhaust 20 kW supersonic Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser. This led to development of following technologies:

• Modular jet based singlet oxygen generator with conversion of vertical extraction into horizontal transport of singlet oxygen
• Modular supersonic grid nozzle
• Evaporator based chlorine supply system
• Large flow buffer and air supply system
• Cavity combining of laser modules
• Positive branch stable and unstable resonator configuration
• Multi-pylon supersonic diffuser
• Ejector based exhaust system
• Interaction protocols for separate DACS for source and exhaust system

This led to development of only existing ground based 20 kW class direct atmospheric Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) system in the world to the best of our knowledge.

20 kW class direct atmospheric Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL)​

 

[Arya Desa]

@Skull and Bones @Technogaianist does the microwave weapon "cook" someone to death? That's seriously sick and should be against Geneva convention.

 

[Fenrir]

@Skull and Bones @Technogaianist does the microwave weapon "cook" someone to death?

Yes they do "cook" a person to death, in the same way and manner as a microwave oven cooking some food. All microwaves excite the water molecules in organic substances, generally causing distress and discomfort, but with high power outputs, even boiling a person from within. A microwave weapon functions much like the exposure to the sun, producing intense radiation burns rapidly. Think of a localized sunburn, but in the third degree rather than the first degree minor skin reddening and irritation (as is typical of most surface burns)

Against electronics microwave weapons function differently and based on a different dynamic. Rather than exciting molecules within the electronics to irritate them, a microwave is in essence an EM charge that "burns" electronics and fries their components.

For a further explanation of battlefield counter-electronic microwave weapons, look towards the US military's "blackout bomb" CHAMP:

Electromagnetic Pulse Weapon Confirmed By U.S. Air Force | Digital Trends

That's seriously sick and should be against Geneva convention.

This is a grey area. Under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, lasers and blinding weapons are banned for use against organic targets, but microwaves are not explicitly mentioned and thus exist within a legal "grey area". It's worth noting that the Pentagon believe microwave weapons are legal and have been exploring the viability of such weapons for battlefield use - both lethal and non-lethal.

The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons

The Viability of Directed-Energy Weapons

 

[SR-91]

The load is never a concern, the concern is the power plant.

would love to see on INS VISHAL, nuclear powered!!!!

 

[Skull and Bones]

@Skull and Bones @Technogaianist does the microwave weapon "cook" someone to death? That's seriously sick and should be against Geneva convention.

No, it can't.

 

[Echo_419]

A new year for DRDO

Posted on: 11:28 AM IST Feb 04, 2014 IST

​

GEEK AT LARGE

Saurav Jha


Right folks, it is the beginning of the year (well, we are still in the first quarter at least) and 'Geek at Large' has decided to take a look at what we can expect from the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in the coming period. In the first quarter of this year itself we are likely to see the first ever test of the Agni-V Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) from a canister and may also see the official unveiling of the K-4 submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM). The Nirbhay Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) is also set be tested for a second time soon. However, this post will focus on other programs that are just as significant for national security as the above.​

India's internal security environment has got better in recent times. Nevertheless, beyond improvements in tactics and training there is a need to leverage new technology to completely defang asymmetric warfare strategies being used by insurgents on Indian soil. It is here that DRDO's 'Divya Chaksu' program becomes significant given that under its aegis, sensors especially useful for providing situational awareness in low intensity warfare environments are being developed. Most significant among these are indigenous versions of foliage penetrating Radar (FOPEN), ground penetrating radar (GPR) and through wall detection radar (TWDR).
FOPEN mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or even ground based platforms obviously makes a lot of sense given that Indian forces often have to undertake counter-insurgency operations in wooded areas. A rugged militarized GPR will prove rather significant in detecting tunnels and the counter-IED fight. TWDRs are naturally quite useful in built-up areas to locate targets hiding behind concrete structures. These systems are of course already available from companies abroad but cost and security considerations ordain that indigenous development and production be pursued.
The electronic warfare realm will be further bolstered in 2014 when India's first dedicated electronic intelligence satellite, CCI-SAT will be lofted into space by a PSLV. CCI-SAT could well augment the joint Signal Intelligence Directorate - DRDO program 'Divya Dhrishti' which is an extensive electronic support measures (ESM) network consisting of some 12 ground stations connected via satellite along India's borders and has the capability to detect otherwise difficult to detect aircraft. Of course CCI-SAT is more oriented towards picking up signals from enemy communication networks. Incidentally, developments in the field of multi-static radars are on the anvil as well.
2014 may also see forward movement in the area of directed energy weapons with Indian efforts in the arena of solid state lasers being unveiled. Much work has already been done in the field of gas dynamic laser(GDL) and chemical oxygen iodine lasers (COIL). For instance enclosed below(see Fig I) is the 'solid model' of a 25 kilowatt (KW) vehicle mounted GDL developed by DRDO's Laser Science and Technology Centre (LASTEC) that has been successfully tested against airborne in the past. The auto laser pointing system used on this 'transportable' GDL originally belongs to a 100 KW GDL. Solid state systems with 20 per cent laser efficiency have also been developed.

Perhaps a future LASTEC developed free electron laser (which are also being researched) could be miniaturized enough to fit the Rustom-2 UAV (see fig 2 below) which will soon take to the skies for the first time. A future post at 'Geek at large' will detail some of the engine options for this UAV which has been designed to fly at 30,000 feet with an endurance of up to 35 hours putting it in the medium altitude long endurance (MALE) category.

Saurav Jha's Blog : A new year for DRDO












DEW's Programme Update -

DRDO has confirmed that it has recently undertaken a project for the development of a self-contained HMV-mounted laser weapon system for detection/tracking and physical destruction of UAVs up to a range of 5 km under normal environmental conditions.

Preliminary system design architecture and technology gaps have been identified and efforts are being made for international collaborations for fast-track development in the project.

100 kW Class Directed Energy Laser Weapon System is very powerful Laser which DRDO is developing said Defence Expert Vinayak Shetty when he first heard about it and it will have ability to take down much more then UAV’s thanks to such a powerful Laser said Shetty. he further explained that only Last year U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin to design, build and test a 60-kilowatt electric laser to be integrated and tested in a truck-mounted weapon system demonstrator which will have ability to counter rockets, artillery, mortars and unmanned aerial threats.

Chinese companies recently developed a powerful anti-drone laser for use in urban areas. 10 kilowatt lasers has ability to target mini-UAVs like quad copters and hand launched drones which could be used by terrorists to scout out attacks, or act as impromptu bombers on Urban areas. Laser has a range of 2km and a 50 metre altitudes.

US Navy is currently fielding the Laser Weapons System (LaWS), a 15-50kW laser on board USS Ponce which is an Austin-class amphibious transport dock of the United States Navy which has ability to target drones and enemy missiles .
From the Indian Defence Expo 2014 -

DRDO's Counter IED 1 KW Laser - enables remote disposal of surface laid unexploded ordnances, mines, directional mines and IEDs. The laser is mounted on a Light Security Vehicle made by TATA Motors. The system’s effective range is 30-250 meters. The smaller aperture adjacent to the main laser unit is a rangefinder, designed to determine the exact distance to target. The system also employs a target sighting camera.

Range 50 to 250 meters


xposting @Chanakya's_Chant

They should accelerate this program

 

[Fenrir]

No, it can't.

They (microwave weapons) do, but not to death unless at high power outputs

Here's a bit of info on the workings of the Active Denial Weapon:

Non-Lethal Weapons Program > About > Frequently Asked Questions > Active Denial System FAQs

The ADS works by firing a high-powered beam of 95 GHz waves at a target, which corresponds to a wavelength of 3.2 mm. The ADS millimeter wave energy works on a similar principle as a microwave oven, exciting the water and fat molecules in the skin, and instantly heating them via dielectric heating. One significant difference is that a microwave oven uses the much lower frequency (and longer wavelength) of 2.45 GHz. The short millimeter waves used in ADS only penetrate the top layers of skin, with most of the energy being absorbed within 0.4 mm (1/64"),whereas microwaves will penetrate into human tissue about 17mm (0.67").

The ADSʼs repel effect in humans occurs at slightly higher than 44 °C (111 °F), though first-degree burns occur at about 51 °C (124 °F), and second-degree burns occur at about 58 °C (136 °F). In testing, pea-sized blisters have been observed in less than 0.1% of ADS exposures, indicating that second degree surface burns have been caused by the device.The radiation burns caused are similar to microwave burns, but only on the skin surface due to the decreased penetration of shorter millimeter waves. The surface temperature of a target will continue to rise so long as the beam is applied, at a rate dictated by the target's material and distance from the transmitter, along with the beam's frequency and power level set by the operator. Most human test subjects reached their pain threshold within 3 seconds, and none could endure more than 5 seconds.

A spokesman for the Air Force Research Laboratory described his experience as a test subject for the system:

"For the first millisecond, it just felt like the skin was warming up. Then it got warmer and warmer and you felt like it was on fire.... As soon as you're away from that beam your skin returns to normal and there is no pain."

Like all focused energy, the beam will irradiate all matter in the targeted area, including everything beyond/behind it that is not shielded, with no possible discrimination between individuals, objects or materials. Anyone incapable of leaving the target area (e.g., physically handicapped, infants, incapacitated, trapped, etc.) would continue to receive radiation until the operator turned off the beam. Reflective materials such as aluminium cooking foil should reflect this radiation and could be used to make clothing that would be protective against this radiation.

Many human tests have been performed on over 700 volunteers and including over 10,000 exposures by ADS. A Penn State Human Effects Advisory Panel (HEAP) concluded that ADS is a non-lethal weapon that has a high probability of effectiveness with a low probability of injury:

• no significant effects for wearers of contact lenses or other eyewear (including night vision goggles)
• normal skin applications, such as cosmetics, have little effect on ADSʼs interaction with skin
• no age-related differences in response to ADS exposures
• no effect on the male reproduction system
• the limit of damage was the occurrence of pea-sized blisters in less than 0.1% of the exposures (6 of 10,000 exposures).

In April 2007, one airman in an ADS test was overdosed and received second-degree burns on both legs, and was treated in a hospital for two days.There was also one laboratory accident in 1999 that resulted in a small second-degree burn.

---

They cook a person from within, but non-lethal microwave weapons lack the power to cause more long-term effects, as noted here:

Many possible long-term effects have been studied, with the conclusion that no long-term effects are likely at the exposure levels studied.However, overexposures of either operators or targets may cause long-term damage including cancer. According to an official military assessment, "In the event of an overexposure to a power density sufficient to produce thermal injury, there is an extremely low probability that scars derived from such injury might later become cancerous. Proper wound management further decreases this probability, as well as the probability of hypertrophic scarring or keloid formation."

• 
  
  • Cancer: A mouse cancer study was performed at two energy levels and exposures with a 94 GHz transmitter: a single 10 second, 1 W/cm exposure; and repeated 10 second exposures over 2 week period at 333 mW/cm. At both energy levels, no increase in skin cancers were observed. No studies of higher energy levels, or longer exposure times have been performed on millimeter wave systems.
  • Cornea damage: tests on non-human primate eyes have observed no short-term or long-term damage as the blink reflex protects the eye from damage within 0.25 seconds.
  • Birth defects: millimeter waves only penetrate 0.4mm (1/64") into the skin, making direct damage to the testes or ovaries impossible.
  • Blisters and scarring: pea-sized blistering due to second degree burns occurred in a very small minority (less than 0.1%) of tested exposures, which have a remote potential for scarring.

ADS operators would be exposed to more than the standard maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limits for RF energy, and military use requires an exception to these exposure limits.

---

This is the same as cooking a hot dog in a microwave (yuck!!!), you heat it from within, but don't typically cause catastrophic damage, unless you up the power and time-on-target.

 

[Skull and Bones]

They (microwave weapons) do, but not to death unless at high power outputs

Here's a bit of info on the workings of the Active Denial Weapon:

Non-Lethal Weapons Program > About > Frequently Asked Questions > Active Denial System FAQs

The ADS works by firing a high-powered beam of 95 GHz waves at a target, which corresponds to a wavelength of 3.2 mm. The ADS millimeter wave energy works on a similar principle as a microwave oven, exciting the water and fat molecules in the skin, and instantly heating them via dielectric heating. One significant difference is that a microwave oven uses the much lower frequency (and longer wavelength) of 2.45 GHz. The short millimeter waves used in ADS only penetrate the top layers of skin, with most of the energy being absorbed within 0.4 mm (1/64"),whereas microwaves will penetrate into human tissue about 17mm (0.67").

The ADSʼs repel effect in humans occurs at slightly higher than 44 °C (111 °F), though first-degree burns occur at about 51 °C (124 °F), and second-degree burns occur at about 58 °C (136 °F). In testing, pea-sized blisters have been observed in less than 0.1% of ADS exposures, indicating that second degree surface burns have been caused by the device.The radiation burns caused are similar to microwave burns, but only on the skin surface due to the decreased penetration of shorter millimeter waves. The surface temperature of a target will continue to rise so long as the beam is applied, at a rate dictated by the target's material and distance from the transmitter, along with the beam's frequency and power level set by the operator. Most human test subjects reached their pain threshold within 3 seconds, and none could endure more than 5 seconds.

A spokesman for the Air Force Research Laboratory described his experience as a test subject for the system:

"For the first millisecond, it just felt like the skin was warming up. Then it got warmer and warmer and you felt like it was on fire.... As soon as you're away from that beam your skin returns to normal and there is no pain."

Like all focused energy, the beam will irradiate all matter in the targeted area, including everything beyond/behind it that is not shielded, with no possible discrimination between individuals, objects or materials. Anyone incapable of leaving the target area (e.g., physically handicapped, infants, incapacitated, trapped, etc.) would continue to receive radiation until the operator turned off the beam. Reflective materials such as aluminium cooking foil should reflect this radiation and could be used to make clothing that would be protective against this radiation.

Many human tests have been performed on over 700 volunteers and including over 10,000 exposures by ADS. A Penn State Human Effects Advisory Panel (HEAP) concluded that ADS is a non-lethal weapon that has a high probability of effectiveness with a low probability of injury:

• no significant effects for wearers of contact lenses or other eyewear (including night vision goggles)
• normal skin applications, such as cosmetics, have little effect on ADSʼs interaction with skin
• no age-related differences in response to ADS exposures
• no effect on the male reproduction system
• the limit of damage was the occurrence of pea-sized blisters in less than 0.1% of the exposures (6 of 10,000 exposures).

In April 2007, one airman in an ADS test was overdosed and received second-degree burns on both legs, and was treated in a hospital for two days.There was also one laboratory accident in 1999 that resulted in a small second-degree burn.

---

They cook a person from within, but non-lethal microwave weapons lack the power to cause more long-term effects, as noted here:

Many possible long-term effects have been studied, with the conclusion that no long-term effects are likely at the exposure levels studied.However, overexposures of either operators or targets may cause long-term damage including cancer. According to an official military assessment, "In the event of an overexposure to a power density sufficient to produce thermal injury, there is an extremely low probability that scars derived from such injury might later become cancerous. Proper wound management further decreases this probability, as well as the probability of hypertrophic scarring or keloid formation."

• 
  
  
  • Cancer: A mouse cancer study was performed at two energy levels and exposures with a 94 GHz transmitter: a single 10 second, 1 W/cm exposure; and repeated 10 second exposures over 2 week period at 333 mW/cm. At both energy levels, no increase in skin cancers were observed. No studies of higher energy levels, or longer exposure times have been performed on millimeter wave systems.
  • Cornea damage: tests on non-human primate eyes have observed no short-term or long-term damage as the blink reflex protects the eye from damage within 0.25 seconds.
  • Birth defects: millimeter waves only penetrate 0.4mm (1/64") into the skin, making direct damage to the testes or ovaries impossible.
  • Blisters and scarring: pea-sized blistering due to second degree burns occurred in a very small minority (less than 0.1%) of tested exposures, which have a remote potential for scarring.

ADS operators would be exposed to more than the standard maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limits for RF energy, and military use requires an exception to these exposure limits.

Hi, I was talking about microwave burst weapons, which is used to fry electronic circuits.

 

[Fenrir]

Hi, I was talking about microwave burst weapons, which is used to fry electronic circuits.

Which can still cause damage to human skin, but are more directional and thus the potential to harm humans is limited to those in the area of effect:

Electromagnetic Weapons: Directed Microwave Energy

There's a reason they are geared towards counter-missile and electronic activities and no used as battlefield weapons.

 

[proud_indian]

DRDO Working on Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) Systems

DRDO's CHESS (Center for High Energy Systems and Science), Hyderabad is developing Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) systems.

One of the DEW weapon systems being developed would target UAV's.

On March 2, 2015 CHESS invited tenders for Off-axis concave and convex parabolic mirrors.

The concave mirror is required to have a parent focal length of 2000mm and mirror diameter of 150mm, while the convex mirror is required to have a parent focal length of 200mm and a mirror diameter of 25mm.

In early July 2015, DRDO's IRDE (Instruments Research & Development Establishment), Dehradun invited tenders for supply of High Resolution thermal imager for CHESS platform.

The IRDE tender seeks a Thermal Imager based on Pelican-D 640x512 MWIR IDDCA with 14.5X zoom capability. The Imager is required to have recognition range capability of 5-km against a 1.5m x 3m UAV target.

IDDCA (Interleaved Double Dynamical Clustering Analysis) is a sampling algorithm based on clustering.

It appears that the imager being sought by IRDE would be used to aim a DEW developed by CHESS for use against UAVs.

Thum! Kaun Aata Hai?: News Roundup: DRDO DEW for Zapping UAVs, Lakshya ToT to L&T, IAF Initiates Procurement of Additional MI-17V5