They can be cheap, but they aren't cheaper than electricity. Also "put reflective material on it" is teenage sci-fi fan level solution, physics don't work that way.
Try article from the Economist from a few years ago.
You may get away with it when lasers are barely out of dazzler power range, but perfectly reflective materials aren't a thing outside of theoretical calculations,
Who said anything about perfectly reflective.
You do not need prefect you need food enough to last for some of the drones to hit target.
Stop trying to build straemen.
I mean if only there was a cheap, abundant ablative material thet can be used as a heat shield at very high temperatures, since at least the 1960s, in actual spacecraft.
and even tiny inefficiencies, at higher power ranges mean degradation of the material and further degradation of its optical characteristics and in turn thermal failure of the material.
Ok, Turkish delight stretching.
The average armored vehicle comes with few hundred kilowatts of power generation if it's designed to be used with high powered electronics from its design stage, and if need be, few tons for a generator are available too.
If the laser needs more than that, it's probably on a ship which can also provide that sort of power.
The ability to shoot down enemy artillery projectiles over a battlefield is a capability no other army has ever fielded before.
www.popularmechanics.com
> Article that goes in no depth onto the power generation or consumption or how many and what drones can be taken out.
Good job!
This is a 50kW diesel generator:
Not the smallest bit of equipment, no?
And I doubt the storege is built into it.
Also, the fact that you can put 50kW into something does not mean you will get 50 kW out, since even when simply transferring power you will get some loss.
And as I said, extended use will likely necessitate cooling and you will also need to power sensors and the aiming system and make sure the whole thing is sufficiently screened and armored so it does not go boom due to shrapnel or becomes too juicy a target for large swarms hitting it from all directions and overwhelming it's ability to shoot stuff down.
I mean, it is not like the USA isn't experiencing huge cost overruns and slowdowns with stuff like things like those littoral combst ships and the F-35.
So, my view. Can this stuff work on ships?
Certainly, especially if they are nuclear and more usage of SMRs on navsl construction becomes a thing.
Can lazors be used to protect fixed assets like bases?
Sure, why not.
Field conditions and mobile anti air units? Right now?
Press F to doubt.
