multi mode or single mode ?
Undisclosed for multi mode or single mode. Unless someone else knows. I haven't read through all the details from Chinese source information and there would be only maybe 20 pages or so of them at most throughout the last ten years for the known lasers. So there isn't that much disclosed information at all.
This does not mean only USA and Turkey have single mode lasers. After all, undisclosed doesn't mean no.
China has been using lasers to disrupt satellite optics since 2000s at least. Only they've started making more noise about it in recent years due to weaponizing of space.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/s...s-anti-satellite-tactics-20210804-p58ft2.html
https://www.militaryaerospace.com/s...ser-weapons-electronic-jammers-gps-satellites
Currently the project building the world's most powerful (by huge margin) laser based on the foundations of very mature laser tech I imagine from crystals and the physics of both making the crystals and the principles themselves.
https://www.9news.com.au/technology...in-world/a3cf1e8a-40d0-4934-b146-e83b87a591dd
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Station_of_Extreme_Light
Not only is the Type 055 destroyer's future upgrades to include railgun but also the immense power generated - now already around 112MW, compared to AB III at 78MW which is a huge amount already, is probably also to power laser weapons to higher ranges.
After all there has been high interest in this field since the 1980s in terms of developing energy weapons. The past never had the level of lasers or the guidance technology and nowhere near the power delivery technologies or storage but both USA and China are increasingly investing in this now that many barriers are lower compared to the past.
Only the most mundane and not militarily sensitive are reported for general technology side.
https://www.shine.cn/news/metro/2106281220/
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a28916407/china-laser-crystals/
Physics of crystals I remember talking to a friend who works with lasers and knows CAS people in teams that are experts in laser physics and the breakthroughs in crystal manufacturing apparently is key and Chinese teams in military fields are leading in several ways while the US are quite established as well.
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/sci...se-crystals-be-next-leap-forward-chinas-laser
https://inf.news/en/science/a34cb67a543150e4e06c7928052362c7.html
https://inf.news/en/tech/9a5351ce8fc61e44301f4e55715ca67c.html
Most of the real juicy stuff never gets reported written about especially in English.
The Chinese science and tech thread on this forum used to feature one or two pieces of news that did mention those things in the past I remember reading. The information was written in Chinese though.
I would find it hard to believe that if there are single mode benefits, a country like China would only build multi modes. In reality, it would be building many types of both, using different teams and organizations, government research labs, CAS, universities independently, private organizations, and the PLA's own military research universities and their own R&D labs too. This is because of the interest and belief that lasers will become much more useful weapons one day rather than destroying optics and burning small drones from only tens of km away.
I think both USA and China are trying to build one that is as powerful as airborne laser but fits on a destroyer and can be powered up to useful firing time length without depleting energy for other electronics and radars. The eventual goal is for the truck mounted lasers to be as powerful as experimental ship mounted ones now.
I would guess this would be the one tested on cruise missile just due to size.
This was on a ship though while the pictured laser is ground based and truck mounted... well yes a giant vehicle and power source I think possibly supported by another. So the desire is for this level to be made small enough like the Mengshi small armored vehicle sized laser.
