Laser Weapons Are Future for Missile Defense, Space, Expert Says
If the Pentagon intends to be laser-focused in its goal to improve directed-energy weapons, it has just a few years to decide whether it wants to invest heavily in the new technology, according to the former director of the Missile Defense Agency.
"There are some things that kinetic weapons will not be able to do" now or in the future, said Henry "Trey" Obering, an executive vice president at consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton who leads the company's directed energy innovation team.
"The big difference between kinetic energy weapons and directed energy is obvious: It's the speed of light, and where would you need a speed-of-light weapon?" he said, pointing out that the need to stop a fast weapon is ubiquitous on the current and future battlefield, including space.
Obering said the Pentagon – should it get its $700-billion-plus spending boost – could afford to throw additional resources toward the directed energy fight. It's an investment, much like the one the Pentagon made years ago to smart, laser- or GPS-guided munitions as opposed to dumb bombs that paid off, starting with Operation Desert Storm.
>https://www.military.com/defensetech/2018/12/19/laser-weapons-are-future-missile-defense-space-expert-says.html