Army soldiers not impressed with Strykers outfitted with 50-kilowatt lasers, service official says

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rangerrebew:
Army soldiers not impressed with Strykers outfitted with 50-kilowatt lasers, service official says
“They will tell you everything and they're not worried about your feelings,” said Doug Bush.
By ASHLEY ROQUE
on May 16, 2024 at 2:01 PM
DE MSHORAD

WASHINGTON — Earlier this year the US Army sent four Stryker-mounted 50-kilowatt laser prototypes to the Middle East for soldiers to test out against aerial threats. Initial feedback is rolling in and it’s not overwhelmingly positive, according to Army acquisition head Doug Bush.

“What we’re finding is where the challenges are with directed energy at different power levels,” Bush told members of the Senate Appropriations airland subcommittee on Wednesday. “That [50-kilowatt] power level is proving challenging to incorporate into a vehicle that has to move around constantly — the heat dissipation, the amount of electronics, kind of the wear and tear of a vehicle in a tactical environment versus a fixed site.”

Dubbed the Directed Energy Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD), the service tasked Kord Technologies with integrating a 50-kilowatt class RTX laser onto a Stryker to down class one to three aerial drones and incoming rockets, artillery and mortars. In total, four prototypes were produced, and Breaking Defense first reported that all four were sent to the US Central Command (CENTCOM) region in February.

https://breakingdefense.com/2024/05/army-soldiers-not-impressed-with-strykers-outfitted-with-50-kilowatt-lasers-service-official-says/

rangerrebew:
It doesn't matter what they think as long as Jill Biden likes them. :whistle:

DefiantMassRINO:
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So, high energy weapons require lots of energy? And, generating lots of energy on a mobile platform in a battle theater or on a battle front is a pain-in-the-ass? Have they tried solar panels and wind turbines?

Timber Rattler:

--- Quote from: DefiantMassRINO on May 17, 2024, 05:47:53 pm --- ////00000////

So, high energy weapons require lots of energy? And, generating lots of energy on a mobile platform in a battle theater or on a battle front is a pain-in-the-ass? Have they tried solar panels and wind turbines?

--- End quote ---

And they're fragile and can't take a beating in the field.

PeteS in CA:
Sounds like the Stryker was a marginal platform for the laser system.

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