Analysis of the application of lasers for counter-UAV purposes

Abstract

From the dawn of human history, mankind has always made efforts to create more effective tools for combating other creatures, including fellow people. Thus, the utilisation of different species of animals, the creation of new weapons and other means of human progress have always led to new developments, aimed at emulating, replacing or combating these innovations. The development of unmanned aerial vehicles has prompted the need to develop alternative and innovative countermeasures. These methods may range from the usage of interceptor drones to the application of concentrated energy beams. This paper examines the progress and known uses of laser technology in the context of combating unmanned aerial vehicles. In order to deepen and systematize knowledge about the development of laser applications in the military field, a systematic bibliographic analysis of scientific papers and popular publications on the development of both laser technologies and unmanned aerial vehicles over the past century was conducted. The study focused on developments that were built (at least as a prototype) and tested against various unmanned aerial vehicles. The results were then compared with a number of articles that separately focused on the history, prospects, and current issues in the development of laser weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles. At the same time, due to the fact that laser technology is one of the most rapidly and comprehensively developing areas of scientific progress, it was decided to use a periodic classification model, the main criterion of which was the focus of laser technology development on countering unmanned aerial systems. The issue of determining the cause-and-effect relationship that links the development of unmanned aerial vehicle technologies and designs with the shift in the focus of laser weapons development to counteract them was considered. It is noted that, due to the high requirements for human and financial capital, the direction and pace of development of laser weapons depend not only on technological limitations, but also on the vision of military strategy and possible threats at a given time. As a conclusion, a variant of periodization of the history of the development of laser weapons as a means of combating unmanned aerial vehicles was proposed.