The frigate “Sachsen” could already be observed in the Eckernförde Bay with a container on the middle deck in the summer. There have been many rumors about the laser weapon tests associated with him. The partners involved in the tests are only now reporting on the first successful shooting down of drones, which took place in late summer.
In January 2021, the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Bundeswehr (BAAINBw) commissioned the High Energy Laser Marine Demonstrator Working Group (ARGE), in which MBDA Germany and Rheinmetall Waffen Munition work together, to create, integrate and support the testing of a laser weapon demonstrator in the maritime environment . The frigate “Sachsen” was chosen for testing. The ARGE completed the necessary homework until the demonstrator was temporarily equipped. The integration and testing phase started in November 2021. A milestone was reached with the use of lasers against drones. On May 19th of this year, Rheinmetall announced the successful completion of this campaign, which was carried out at the company's own test site in Unterlüß. It was said at the time that various types of drones with a range of up to one kilometer were optically tracked and neutralized.
Der erste scharfe Schuss mit einer Hochenergie-#Laserwaffe gegen ein dynamisches Ziel wurde erfolgreich durchgeführt. Beteiligt an der bisher einjährigen Erprobung: unsere #WTD71 and #WTD91 und die @deutschemarine gemeinsam mit der Industrie.
Mehr unter https://t.co/MFbNBgNrqU pic.twitter.com/fVgTv2GSZv— Bundeswehr AIN (@BaainBw) October 27, 2022
From then on, the laser weapon demonstrator on board the “Sachsen” was intended to test its effectiveness under realistic operational conditions in the maritime environment. The demonstrator was installed on the frigate at the end of June. On August 30th, drones were successfully combated at close and close range in the maritime area north of the Putlos military training area. Which means the first use of a laser weapon on board a German naval ship at sea - a milestone for the navy and for the Bundeswehr, as Rheinmetall announced yesterday.
The Koblenz procurement authority announced: “As part of a test campaign in October 2022, proof has now been provided that dynamic targets can be successfully combated under operational conditions.” The future system is an effective means of “combatting small and agile targets, such as Drones or speedboats, in the near and near range”. But defense against mortar shells and guided missiles is also conceivable, according to the responsible project manager at BAAINBw.
The laser demonstrator on board the “Sachsen” consists of a 20-foot container on which the laser weapon station is mounted. The rough alignment of the laser weapon station is based on the data from the electro-optical sensors in the weapon station. Fine tracking is carried out in a similar way to radar fire control systems. The reflection of the so-called illumination laser from the target is converted into corresponding control signals.
The results now announced are an interim result. The demonstrator will have to prove itself in further demanding scenarios. The trials are scheduled to last until the middle of next year. The end result should be knowledge about a functional and operationally usable laser weapon.
Ziel der aktuellen Untersuchungen in der Landanwendung ist es, bis Ende 2022 eine geeignete Konfiguration für einen mobilen Technologiedemonstrator mit einer Laserleistung von über 10 kW zur Integration in ein Boxer-Kampffahrzeug zu erstellen.
Regarding the technical details, it is known from previous communications that the demonstrator's laser source is based on spectral coupling technology, which has been studied for years. The key data of the demonstrator are a scalable output power of up to 20 kW with very good beam quality. At its core, the demonstrator consists of twelve almost identical 2kW fiber laser modules. These would be coupled to a laser beam with very good beam quality via a beam combiner - an assembly for combining the beams of several laser sources into a total beam based on dielectric grid technology.
The sea-based testing of a laser weapon system was actually expected as early as 2020. In a first step, “highly precise and scalable effectiveness against agile/low-signature targets in the near and close range of floating system carriers of the Navy - HoWiSM” should be integrated into a laser weapon system demonstrator on a K130 corvette as a test vehicle. The original plan to carry it out on the corvette “Oldenburg” was revised because of the corvettes' UNIFIL missions.
Since summer 2019, Rheinmetall and MBDA Germany have formed a working group in the development of high-energy laser effectors with the aim of jointly building, integrating and testing a laser demonstrator for use in the German Navy. Rheinmetall had already installed a 10-kilowatt laser weapon (high-energy laser (HEL effector)) on a light naval gun (MLG 27) on board a German naval unit in 2015, which was used to detect and track targets. In October 2016, MBDA Germany tested a high-energy laser effector at a military training area on the German Baltic Sea coast.
European development of laser weapons is lagging behind progress in the United States. Aboard “USS Preble” (DDG-88), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer (2nd lot), a 60 kW laser is used to combat drones and smaller surface units. This is a further development of a 30-kilowatt laser (AN/SEQ-3 Laser Weapon System, LaWS) that was already used on USS “Ponce” (LPD 15) between 2014 and 2017.
The Royal Navy is experimenting with “Dragonfire”, a demonstrator from the MBDA, QinetiQ and Leonardo consortium.
During EuroNaval 2022 it was announced that the French Navy will conduct sea trials with the HELMA-P system next year.
The Israeli defense company RAFAEL is promoting its high-energy laser weapon system (100 kW) Iron Beam, the land-based version of which has already proven its effectiveness.
Laser sources for lasers from 2 µm to 5 µm are used for defense-related applications. Research work (including at the German-French Research Institute Saint Louis) focuses on new laser materials and doped glass fibers (thulium, holmium), nonlinear crystals such as zinc-germanium phosphides (ZGP) and non-planar optical-parametric oscillators (OPOs) as well as non-linear fibers such as fluoride fibers and generation of supercontinuum.
Hans Uwe Mergener
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