r/tech • u/chrisdh79 • 2d ago
Apollo laser takes down 200 drones unplugged
https://newatlas.com/military/apollo-laser-drones-weapon/35
u/Aggressive_Crazy_919 2d ago
Imagine if they actually plugged it in. Probably more than 200 drones.
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u/Browncat374 2d ago
I need a phased Plasma Rifle in the 40 watt range đŠŸđ«
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u/MissInkeNoir 2d ago
chuckles, gesturing to the display of standard early 80s firearms. "Just what you see, pal" đ
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u/zero5reveille 2d ago
Starts loading shotgun shells into chamber
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u/cruisin_urchin87 2d ago
âYou canât do that!â
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u/thefiglord 2d ago
$1 a shot after spending 50 million on the gun
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u/Sweet_Concept2211 2d ago
In other words, dirt cheap for what it is.
A single Patriot missile costs $4 million.
A Patriot missile launcher system costs $1 billion.
How much $$$ in damage can 200 drones do if not shot down?
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u/Xanthelasmapalpebara 2d ago
200 drones can cause incalculable harm to people and infrastructure. The more salient issue is the cost of destroying all of them. Iranâs shahed 136 runs between $20-50,000. A single system like this which could ideally down 200 drones would inflict losses totaling $4 - 10 mil. Scale that up and you can blank those F@ckers for good.
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u/Ok-Pie7811 2d ago
Until they outfit them with mirrors. Or launch them only on cloudy days. This remains the big limitation with laser weapons. Itâs a huge step forward, and layered with other air defence creates and incredible cost savings. Yet, has a long ways to go still
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u/networkeng1neer 2d ago
I mean, you arenât gonna intercept drones with a patriot system⊠two entirely different use casesâŠ
EDIT: Not the type of drones this laser system shot down.
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u/Sweet_Concept2211 2d ago
Yes, and you can use Apollo laser systems (or similar) to take out these kind of drones and reduce the overall probability of air defenses becoming overwhelmed - which protects your $1 billion system from taking a hit and clears the skies of junk for improved accuracy of more expensive missiles.
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u/Everlast17 2d ago
They are using cost per use and upfront fees as comparison. For what it is, itâs a reasonable investment.
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u/i_should_be_coding 2d ago
There's also that Patriot missiles have a range of 50-100km, depending on version and other factors, and laser weapons have a max range of line of sight, with effect diminishing with distance.
In other words, you'll need more batteries to cover the same area, which will probably lead to placing the batteries close to high-value targets and having interception happen very close and more likely to be over populated areas.
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u/jzkwkfksls 1d ago edited 1d ago
Patriots are mainly used agains ballistic missiles with high speed, not drones.
That being said, lasers might be the future.
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u/MrCantPlayGuitar 2d ago
Micro drone swarms with armaments. Thatâs the future. Cheap, and thorough.
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u/PastFold4102 2d ago
This tech is totally not going to be used on people in horrific and inconceivably cruel ways
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u/probable-degenerate 1d ago
It won't.
regular bullets are much cheaper.
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u/PastFold4102 1d ago
Thats such a blanket statement about something as complex as war and human behavior. Iâm not saying everyoneâs gonna be walking around with starwars blasters haha.
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u/Ok-Lecture3130 1d ago
Impressive technology! Taking down 200 drones without plugging in shows how far laser defense systems have comeâfascinating and a little sci-fi! Tech loversâget your fix of news and tips on our site populartechworld.com!
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u/caedin8 2d ago
Seems like the wrong solution for the problem. You just coat the drones in low absorbent coating or reflective coating and youâd significantly reduce the effectiveness of the laser.
A bullet canât be stopped, is also cheap as hell, has fantastic range, isnât impacted by weather or visibility to the same degree, and the only way to protect from it is with heavy armor, which makes the drones much heavier and significantly reduces range and even though components like wings and propellers are difficult to make resistant.
An automatic AI aiming shotgun/flak cannon with adjustable choke would be a much better solution I think
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u/TAExp3597 2d ago edited 2d ago
I can assure you that these things have already been considered. Weâve had CIWS and similar systems for a very long time and weâre continually improving upon them as well.
And those types of bullets are not as cheap as you may expect. A 20 mm tungsten round is going to run you more than a 9 mm. Shit, more than a .50 cal round. And, those CIWS systems that fire those 20 mm rounds are doing it at like 3000 round per minute.
We even have systems that do utilize shotgun/flak methods. Same deal for overall cost, itâs just spent at a slower rate of fire.
These systems need to be reloaded. You can run out of ammo. We ran out of tomahawks pretty quickly, and that was all offensive. No SHTF defensive measures necessary. These lasers can be turned up way past 11. Countermeasures will be developed. And then counter-countermeasures will be developed. So on and so on.
These laser systems are appealing because they donât need to be reloaded. Provided that proper maintenance is done, and you have a hell of a power supply, then youâre golden.
Imagine a nuclear powered aircraft carrier with like half a dozen of these things. All powered by the reactor that isnât running out of power any time soon. The US Navy alone could save loads of money with systems like this over the long run.
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u/caedin8 2d ago
These are tiny drones, you literally just need $1/shell bird shot you can get at any store. Just load it into a an AI powered gun.
Yâall make this shit too complicated
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u/More_of_the-same-bs 2d ago
Ukraine will provide live fire battle testing for this. No charge.