Why doesn't the military use lasers?

The military has actually been exploring the use of lasers for defense and offense for several decades, and laser weapons are a promising technology for the future. However, there are several reasons why lasers are not yet widely used in combat situations. These reasons can be broken down into technological, practical, and strategic challenges. Here's an overview of why lasers are not yet a standard part of military operations:

1. Power Requirements

Lasers, particularly high-powered ones used for military purposes, require a tremendous amount of energy to function effectively. A laser weapon needs enough power to generate a focused beam capable of damaging or disabling targets at a distance, which requires advanced power sources.

• Energy consumption: The energy needed to fire high-powered lasers continuously for a period of time is often far beyond what current portable power systems can provide. For example, the laser weapons being tested by militaries often need massive generators or batteries, making them cumbersome to deploy in many environments.
• Compact power sources: While there have been improvements in portable power technology, such as high-density batteries and micro reactors, current power sources are not yet efficient enough to supply the energy needed for sustained use of high-powered lasers in combat.

2. Beam Attenuation and Atmospheric Interference

Lasers rely on focused beams of light, which can be affected by the atmosphere in ways that make them less effective in certain conditions.

• Weather: Weather conditions like rain, fog, smoke, or even dust can scatter or absorb laser beams, reducing their effectiveness. This makes lasers less reliable in adverse weather or in environments with low visibility.
• Atmospheric distortion: The air density, humidity, and even temperature variations can bend or refract the laser beam, decreasing its accuracy and power over long distances.

This challenge is particularly problematic for lasers designed for longer-range defense, such as intercepting missiles or enemy aircraft. While lasers can theoretically be effective in clear skies, their performance degrades in less-than-ideal conditions.

3. Limited Range and Power Output

While lasers can be incredibly precise, their range is still limited when compared to traditional projectile weapons like guns or rockets. Laser weapons are typically effective at short to medium ranges, and even at these ranges, they may require prolonged exposure to damage a target effectively.

• Energy dissipation: The intensity of the laser decreases over distance. Unlike conventional projectiles, which retain their kinetic energy over long distances, a laser’s energy is absorbed or scattered by the atmosphere. Therefore, the effective range of a laser weapon is usually much shorter than traditional weaponry.
• Accuracy: For a laser to effectively damage a target, it needs to remain focused on the target long enough to burn through armor or heat vital systems. This requires precise tracking and constant targeting, which can be difficult at longer ranges.

4. Targeting and Tracking Difficulties

For laser weapons to work effectively, they require advanced targeting and tracking systems to ensure that the beam is directed at the target with high precision. This is not as easy as simply firing a gun or launching a missile.

• Moving targets: Lasers work best when they can focus on a target without interruption. This can be challenging when targeting fast-moving objects, like aircraft or missiles. Advanced tracking systems are required to keep the laser focused on the target, and even minor errors in alignment can cause the laser to miss or fail to cause damage.
• Atmospheric conditions: As mentioned earlier, things like dust, rain, and even the curvature of the Earth can interfere with targeting systems, making it difficult to get a consistent and accurate hit, especially over long distances.

5. Cost and Development Time

Developing, testing, and deploying laser weapons is extremely expensive. While lasers have potential advantages, such as being relatively inexpensive per shot compared to traditional weapons like missiles or bombs, the upfront cost of building a functional laser system is prohibitively high.

• Development costs: Military-grade laser systems require significant research and development, and even once they are developed, they may be prone to technical issues that require extensive testing and modifications.
• Maintenance and deployment: Lasers also require complex cooling systems and regular maintenance to remain operational, especially if they're deployed in extreme environments like deserts or arctic regions.

6. Lack of Proven Battlefield Effectiveness

While laser weapons have been tested in controlled environments, they have not yet proven to be effective in real-world combat conditions. Laser systems are still in the experimental and developmental stages for most military organizations.

• Field testing: Militaries around the world have conducted various field tests of laser weapons, such as the U.S. Navy’s Laser Weapon System (LaWS), but these systems are still relatively new and have not been deployed in large-scale operations.
• Reliability: There are concerns about whether laser weapons will hold up under the stresses of actual combat, such as extreme temperatures, vibrations from artillery fire, and other operational stresses.

7. Legal and Ethical Considerations

The use of lasers in military combat raises a number of legal and ethical concerns, especially when it comes to their potential use in targeting human beings.

• International laws: There are laws of war, including the Geneva Conventions, that regulate the use of certain types of weaponry in combat. While lasers themselves are not explicitly banned, their use in certain circumstances could violate international laws, especially if they cause undue suffering or are used in indiscriminate ways.
• Blinding weapons: One major concern is the potential for lasers to be used in a way that causes permanent blindness. There are already international agreements (such as the 1995 Protocol IV of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons) that prohibit the use of lasers designed to blind humans permanently. While military lasers are designed to disable or destroy equipment, their potential to accidentally cause blinding injuries raises concerns about their ethical use in combat.

8. Alternative Technologies

While lasers are being developed, there are alternative weapon systems that are more effective in current military scenarios. For example:

• Missiles and rockets are highly effective for long-range engagement, especially in air-to-air or air-to-ground combat.
• Kinetic energy weapons (such as guns, railguns, and artillery) provide highly reliable and powerful alternatives for many military applications.
• Directed energy weapons that are not lasers, such as microwave weapons or electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons, may offer more practical and versatile solutions in certain situations.

Conclusion

Lasers are a promising technology, and their potential for military applications is enormous. However, they are not yet widely used due to a combination of technical limitations, such as power requirements, range, and targeting issues, as well as practical challenges related to cost, reliability, and battlefield effectiveness. In the future, as technology improves—particularly in terms of power generation, targeting systems, and weather-resistant designs—laser weapons may become more widely used. For now, however, traditional projectile-based weaponry, like missiles, bombs, and guns, remains the more reliable and effective option for most military operations.